Trevor had an almost palpable aura of hatred and fury around him. His sharp and gigantic teeth were in full visibility as his face became feral in appearance. The rage emanating from the bear was unquantifiable.

Lee didn't know who he feared more in this situation.

When Trevor spoke, the noises he made were halfway between words and incomprehensible, vicious growling. "Why are you here?"

Riz slowly approached. "I came to pay my respects to Tem."

Trevor's eyes widened.

RRRROOOOOOAAAAAAAARRRRR!

The younger bear let out a bellowing roar that stopped Riz in his tracks.

"What makes you think you have the right?! You'rethe one that murderedhim!"

Lee felt a little dizzy. Trevor's voice was insanely loud. This level of aggression was very surprising for the passive and kindly bear. His face looked almost demonic, and saliva violently sprayed from his mouth with every other word.

Riz remained calm despite his son's abundance of hostility. "Because he was my friend. I can't bring him back. But I can at least offer my respects. It's better than running away from him."

Trevor snorted. "But you didrun away from him! You ran away from this school and your own family! You left us with your mess! You could've stayed and helped Mama run the shop! You could've protected her! But you didn't!And now she's in the hospital!" He pointed a finger at his father. "She might die! And it would be your fault!"

Riz watched silently as his child huffed and puffed, breathing heavily from sheer hatred and anger. He closed his eyes. "You're not wrong about that. I ran away. I only came back when I found out she's in the hospital. But I wanted to try and make up for even a little of the damage I caused."

Trevor's face went from a burning rage to something much more dark and cold. "If you want to make up for what you've done, you'll commit suicide."

Lee winced. He could hardly believe words that harsh were coming from Trevor of all people. Is this even the same person?

Riz shook his head. "That wouldn't fix a single thing. Right now, you're letting your anger do the talking for you." He looked concerned. "You used to be so calm and reserved. It's sad, seeing you become so hateful."

Trevor snarled. "You can blame yourself for that. You put me in a school that hates me for being your son and then you just abandoned me. If you thought I wouldn't hateyou after that, then you're even crazier than I thought. Crazy andstupid."

Lee wasn't sure if he should do something. If he tried to mediate, he'd likely just get shot down by Trevor. The younger bear wasn't himself. Reasoning with him seemed unlikely.

Riz had a melancholy look. "I can't fault you for blaming me. But you don't want anger to control your life like this. I ended up eating my best friend because I couldn't control my instincts. But anger is something else entirely. You lose control of that, you can end up doing way worse things than even Idid."

Trevor put on a smile. But it was far from a friendly smile. It was the kind of smile a serial killer had before cutting up his victims in a horror movie. "Stop pretending you care about me. Saying I can end up worsethan you? What a load of shit."

The younger bear stood in front of Tem's photo and glared. "You're not offering your false 'respects' here. If you even tryto pray to Tem, I'll killyou."

Riz sighed. "I hope you come around. I don't want you to go down the same path as I did." He turned to Lee, causing the wolf-rabbit to sweat nervously.

The bear tilted his head. "I know that fur color. You're Legosi-kun's son, aren't you?"

Lee gulped. "Y-yeah. I'm half-rabbit and half-wolf."

Riz chuckled. "I heard about a rabbit-wolf hybrid going to this school. Guess I should have expected it to be Legosi-kun's kid."

The chimera was unsettled by how civil this conversation was. He kept expecting Riz to attack him as revenge against his father or something. Has the bear really calmed down that much since juvie?

Trevor stepped between Riz and Lee. "Are you done here or not?"

Riz was silent for a bit. "Alright. I'll see you later, Trevor." The older bear walked away.

Trevor snarled again before shouting. "You better prayyou never see me again!"

After Riz was out of sight, Trevor looked somewhat tired. It seems excessive hatred drains his batteries. He looked at Lee sadly. "I'll… come back to Drama Club tomorrow. Okay?"

The chimera nodded. "Yeah. Whenever you're ready."

The bear sighed and looked somewhat embarrassed. "I'm sorry you had to see that. Everything about him just gets under my skin."

Lee gave him an understanding look. "I get it. I'm not judging you for getting angry. We allfly off the handle sometimes."

The chimera wasn't being entirely honest. The level of hatred on display was absolutely shocking. A face with that level of rage was something he had never seen before.

Trevor walked away. "Goodbye, Lee-kun."

Lee waved. "S-see you later, Trevor-senpai."

The chimera started to walk away but froze when he looked down the left hallway. Jiro the Tibetan fox was standing there, staring. "S-sorry. I didn't mean to eavesdrop. I just heard shouting and came to investigate."

Lee chuckled nervously. "Yeah. Just a parent and child argument. It happens."

Jiro laughed nervously as well. "I think I kinda have that in common with him."

Lee tilted his head curiously before he remembered what the fox was talking about. "Oh. You mean because your mom ate an herbivore."

The fox sighed. "I got into a hugefight with her after I found out. I love my mom. I really do, even now. But I responded pretty badly at the time. I made her cry."

The words Jiro spoke caused a memory to come back to the chimera. A memory he hated that he wished he could just bury.

The chimera sighed. "I can empathize, actually."

The fox looked at Lee with a tilted head. Even without the notepad, his curiosity was obvious.

Five Years Ago

Lee stood in his room across from his two concerned parents. The chimera had a bandaid on his head from a particularly gruesome fight.

Haru gave her son a stern look. "Lee. How many times do we need to have this conversation? You need to stop getting into petty fights like this. You're not doing any good by getting yourself and other children hurt."

Lee growled. "You didn't hear the lies he said about you! How am I just supposed to let someone talk about my mom like that?!"

Legosi sighed. "Lee. Insulting someone's mother is the easiest way to offend them. That boy doesn't even knowyour mother. He just insulted her to make you mad."

The chimera snorted. "He said it was a rumor he heard. That my mom was a..." He bit his lip, not wanting to repeat the word. "Th-that she slept with a bunch of guys in high school!"

A look of surprise crossed Haru's face. Then, one of concern. "Oh boy. I… I guess I need to explain something to you."

Lee looked confused and curious.

Haru sighed. "That kid wasn't lying."

The chimera's eyes widened. "Wh-what?"

"I… I was having a hard time in that part of my life. It's hard to explain right now, at your age. But I was very sad a lot of the time. And being… intimate... with men made me feel better."

Lee looked absolutely baffled and shocked. "Wh-what are you talking about?"

Legosi scratched the back of his neck uncomfortably. "She's telling the truth."

The chimera looked absolutely destroyed. That can't be true. How?

Haru smiled. "It's not like that anymore though. I've been faithful to your father since we started dating."

Lee's lip quivered. "Y-you hid this from me! Why would you do that?!"

Haru frowned sadly. "Honey, that's not something that I'm comfortable talking to my son about. I didn't want-"

The chimera scowled angrily as he interrupted. "You didn't want me to know my mom really isa whore?!"

Haru's eyes widened in shock and the room fell dead silent.

Legosi looked at her with great concern. "H-Haru? Are you okay?"

She started to tear up, and Lee realized he just made a terrible mistake. It was very rare to see his mother cry. And he just caused it to happen. His ears flattened against his head and he looked at her remorsefully. "M-Mom?"

Haru sniffled and wiped the tears from her eyes as her face turned red. "I-I'm okay. I just need to be alone for a second." The rabbit left the room, but Lee could hear her sobbing. He started to feel a massive amount of guilt. Then he turned towards his father, and what he saw terrified him to his core.

Legosi's face was scrunched up into an expression of unbelievable fury as he bared his teeth and growled. He gave Lee an enraged glare that made the chimera feel like the lupine's gaze was trying to burn a hole through his soul. The wolf's height, something that usually made the chimera feel safe, was now reminding him of how weak, small, and helpless he was. He had never seen his father this angry.

Lee trembled in terror. His knees became wobbly, he started to sweat, and his eyes teared up.

The wolf got down on one knee and got just a few centimeters away from Lee's face.

The chimera's vision was taken up almost entirely by his father's raging eyes. He could feel the image of that frightening glare being burned into his memory.

" Nobodytalks to Haru like that! Not even you!"

Lee couldn't take it. His father's fury had completely broken the chimera's will. He started crying right there. "D-Dad…"

The wolf stood up, looking down angrily upon him. "You're grounded for a week. No TV, no video games, no cellphone, no playing outside."

This was completely new to the chimera. His entire life, when he did something wrong, his mother was the one to punish him, and she usually only grounded him for a day or two. Hearing those words come from his father made it feel more severe.

Legosi left the room, leaving the chimera to think about what he just did.

Lee fell to his knees and loudly sobbed. Usually, when he cried, his parents would run over to comfort him. But this time, he knew they wouldn't come. He was left there to cry his eyes out, completely alone.

Lee looked incredibly glum as he finished telling his story. "I apologized later and we all got over it. But sometimes I just remember it out of nowhere." The chimera bit his lip. "I was such a stupid little brat."

Jiro nodded. "We're all a little dumb and selfish as children. But it's the mistakes we make that improve us as we grow up." He chuckled. I'm sure your mom and dad were chewed out by their own parents when they were younger.

The chimera decided against informing the fox that his father was raised by great-grandpa because grandma killed herself when his dad was still a little kid. The conversation was sad enough.

Lee looked curiously at Jiro's sketchpad, which the fox was holding under his right arm. "If you don't mind, can I see the drawings on the back of the sketchpad?"

The fox fell silent for a bit and for a second, Lee thought he made a horrible mistake. He was about to apologize for even asking, but was interrupted by Jiro chuckling wistfully.

"I guess there's no point in being ashamed at this point, huh?" Jiro handed the sketchpad to Lee.

The chimera flipped through the disturbing images backward, from newest to oldest. He came to Jiro's first back page drawing and looked at it curiously. "Just out of curiosity, why was your first back page drawing your mother's uhh… crime?"

Jiro looked down at the pad and scratched his chin. "Hmm…" He looked up at the ceiling. "Well…"

Lee looked at the fox expectantly.

Jiro shrugged. "I dunno. Never thought about it."

The chimera did his best to mask his disappointment in that answer. He figured someone so soulful and passionate about art would be more contemplative about something that important. He handed the sketchpad back.

Jiro reached into his pocket and opened his notepad to the small smile. "I hope you like my stuff."

Lee smiled back. "I did. Thanks."

Jiro nodded. "Let's head to Drama Club. Jo-chan will kill us if we show up late."

The chimera chuckled. "Yeah, let's go."

The theater was absolutely packed for the next performance. It seemed people were really just there to see Pina, as the audience broke out into incredibly noisy applause when he came on stage.

Olivia waited patiently backstage.

The play came to an end. After the cast bowed, everyone went backstage. Pina pulled off his mask and wiped the sweat from his brow. "I did notmiss those damn lights. Maybe I'm just too used to studio lighting now."

Viola came running up to her father with a bottle of water. "Here!"

The sheep grabbed the bottle and chugged most of it. He made a refreshed sound as he removed the bottle from his lips. "Aaahh…" He tossed the bottle into the trash a few meters away. He patted his daughter on the head. "Thank you, pumpkin."

She grinned happily and hugged him.

Sebastian ran up and hugged him next. "Thanks for helping with the play, Daddy!"

Pina smiled. "Anything for my little angels."

Olivia and Esther stood next to each other.

The lab leaned over towards her girlfriend and whispered. "I kinda get the feeling he spoils them rotten. It'd explain why they don't seem to be completely in-tune with reality."

The white tiger scoffed. "They've always been spoiled. I guess celebrities just raise kids differently." She smiled. "They're a little creepy, unstable, and the fact they cuddle kinda weirds me out. But they're not bad kids. They're never boring, that's for sure."

They were about to leave when they passed by Jiro, who was sitting at a bench, drawing as he usually did. Esther happened to glance over his shoulder and saw what was on his sketchbook. She grinned. "Woah!"

The vulpine jumped in surprise and turned to look at the white tiger. In the book, he was drawing Esther in a barbarian costume ripping apart an enemy with her bare hands. The enemy was some sort of reptile, and his internal organs were spilling out of his body. Standing next to her was Olivia, who was wearing what looked like mage's robes, carrying a book in her left hand, and pointing at an enemy raccoon with her right hand that was screaming as he burst into flames.

Jiro gulped. "S-sorry to draw you without permission again."

The tiger shook her head. "You kiddin' me? This is badass!"

Olivia looked shocked by it at first but then cleared her throat and adjusted her glasses. "I-it's well-drawn, that's for certain." She chuckled nervously. "It's hard to imagine myself killing somebody though. Especially in such a gruesome way."

The fox gave a sigh of relief. "I'm glad you're not mad. Sometimes I just-"

Jiro was interrupted when Meredith quickly approached from behind them and snatched the sketchbook out of his hands.

The three looked at her in shock and surprise. Jiro was looking particularly distressed.

The calico cat flipped through the pages of the sketchbook with a look of disgust. She glared at Jiro. "And what made you think these were an appropriate thing to draw?"

Jiro gulped. "I just need to draw sometimes. It's not class right now so I figured it wasn't a big deal."

Meredith scowled as she went through the back pages. "This is incredibly disturbing content indeed. I'm afraid I must submit you for psychological counseling. As for this book, I will be confiscating it."

The vulpine's jaw dropped. "B-but…"

Esther interrupted with a hateful glare. "Now you're taking Jiro-kun's sketchbook? Do you even know how important those drawings are to him?"

Olivia huffed. "He's likely been using that sketchpad for years. You can't take something so valuable!"

Meredith hissed. "I can and I shall. These drawings are completely inappropriate." She flipped over to the drawing of Ibuki dead and shoved it in the fox's face. "You know this kind of thing can be taken as a death threat, don't you?"

Jiro shook his head rapidly. "It's not a death threat! I had a nightmare. These thoughts don't go away unless I draw them."

The cat pulled the sketchbook away from him. "I'm afraid that's not my problem." She sneered. "You know what? I don't think I can risk someone so blatantly unstable potentially harming one of the students. I think expulsion may be in order."

Olivia, Esther, and Jiro all shouted at once. "What?!"

Meredith shrugged. "I'm just keeping the safety of the students in mind. It's my duty. Now if you don't mind…" She started to walk away.

Jiro stood up. "W-wait! What are you going to do with my sketchbook?"

Meredith snorted. "First, I'll show it to the faculty and explain the situation." She smirked. "Then, it's off to the incinerator."

The fox's pupils shrank and he started to tremble as his eyes teared up. "N-no…"

Esther stormed toward her. "You're going waytoo far with this!"

The cat wagged a finger in Esther's face condescendingly. "Don't forget who's in charge here!"

Suddenly, Jolene walked in from behind a curtain. "That would be me."

Meredith glared at the sheep. "This doesn't concern you!"

Jolene scoffed. "He was drawing it during Drama Club in the backstage of the auditorium. I'm the director so his punishment is mine to decide."

The cat rolled her eyes. "As if you'd actually punish him for this. You're just doing this to spite me. Like you did with the changes to your little play. But what youhave to say doesn't matter. The faculty will take my side." A look of realization crossed the cat's face and she gave the sheep an incredibly twisted and malicious grin. "Although, I mightbe willing to change my mind. I'll give back his book and won't have him expelled. But only if you give him a suitable punishment. And I'm not talking about a simple suspension."

She opened the book to the drawing of Ibuki's death. "You see the severity of this situation, don't you? I don't need to explain to you the implications here. Severe circumstances call for severe punishment. Well?"

Jolene bit her lip and her eyes shifted around as she was clearly debating what to do. She gave a defeated sigh and looked at Jiro with incredibly sad eyes. "Jiro-kun. I'm afraid I must dismiss you from Drama Club… permanently."

Esther and Olivia looked at her with looks of utter shock. The tiger took a step towards the sheep. "Jo-chan! You can't!"

Meredith chuckled. "Oh, yes she can. And now she has." The cat shoved the sketchbook into Jolene's hands and gave a fake, sickly sweet smile. "I'm glad we could see eye to eye. You have fun with your little club now!" The cat walked away, looking way too pleased.

There was an incredibly uncomfortable silence in the room. A sad-looking Jolene approached Jiro and handed him the sketchbook. "I-I'm so sorry…"

The fox got down on his knees and pulled the sheep into a hug. "Don't be. I'm grateful you got my sketchbook back and kept me from getting expelled." He released her and stood up. "I'm the one who should be sorry. Because of me, you were put in a terrible situation where you had to make a choice you didn't want to make."

Jolene shook her head. "You weren't doing anything that bad. Sure, maybe you shouldn't have been drawing such things outside of your dorm, but her punishment was wayover the top."

Esther growled loudly. "That bitch! I'm gonna-"

Olivia put a hand on her girlfriend's shoulder and gave her an understanding look. "Calm down, sweetie. Don't make the situation even worse."

The tiger looked incredibly frustrated. Was there nothing she could do about this?

Jiro pulled out his notepad and opened it to the big smiling face. He bowed to Jolene. "It was an honor to work with you, Jo-chan. I'll always cherish my time here. Take care of yourself."

Jolene still looked incredibly depressed but bowed back. "You too, Jiro-kun."

Everyone split up and left the auditorium in low spirits, saddened that the vulpine artist would no longer be making those beautifully crafted backdrops for them.