Ibuki returned to his dorm to see most of his roommates chatting it up. Jiro was up on his bed, staring off into space.

The deer-wolf approached the fox with a concerned look. "Jo-chan told me what happened. Are you okay?"

Jiro nodded. "It sucks I'm not in Drama Club, but, honestly, I feel worse for Jo-chan. She looked heartbroken when she had to do it."

Katsu looked curious. "What happened?"

The fox sighed. "I was doing some drawings and a faculty member named 'Meredith' didn't like how violent they were. So she threatened to expel me and burn my sketchpad if Jo-chan didn't ban me from Drama Club."

The hyena scowled. "Heh heh heh. I know that bitch. Heh heh heh heh, she loves throwing her power around."

Lucas scoffed. "I've had more than a few run-ins with her. She flips out on me when she sees me flirting with girls. Then she gets even morepissed when she sees me with boys."

Gil nodded. "Sh-she's really mean. She threatened to take away my game 'cause I was playing it in the hall. But it wasn't even time for class yet."

Simon gave a thumbs down and blew a raspberry.

Ibuki scoffed. "Seems that woman hasn't built a great reputation for herself."

Jiro pulled out his notepad and flipped to a depressed-looking face. "I almost feel bad for her. I've seen a lot of people like her. They end up pushing away their friends and family until they're all alone."

Lucas snorted. "That's definitely the case for her son. He goes to clubs and gay bars a lot and she found out and disowned him over it. She's awful."

Ibuki tilted his head. "Huh? How do you know that?"

The sheepdog's one visible eye widened and he started to sweat. "I uhh… it's just a rumor I've heard through the grapevine." He laughed awkwardly and scratched the back of his neck.

The deer-wolf narrowed his eyes suspiciously but decided not to press it. He sighed. "I think it's time for us to take a shower."

Katsu shook his head. "You guys can go ahead. I can't shower today."

Ibuki raised an eyebrow. "Why not?"

The hyena rolled up his right sleeve, revealing a bandage wrapped around his arm. "Can't get this wet."

Gil gasped. "Wh-what happened?"

Katsu sighed. "It's not a big deal, Gil-kun. Just got into a bit of a scuffle with a wolverine and he gave me a scratch."

The coyote glared. "You got into a fight because someone made fun of your growl again, didn't you?"

The hyena gulped. "Uhh… well. It's like…"

Gil groaned. "How many times has Miguno-san told you not to do that? You shouldn't be listening to people that do that."

The two started arguing, but Ibuki tuned them out. He stared at the bandage on Katsu's arm. The chimera pressed a finger to his mouth in contemplation. Then, his eyes widened as a realization hit him. Ibuki pulled out his cellphone and started typing out a message.

Esther paced back and forth angrily in her dorm with an enraged face.

Ceci looked concerned. "You should calm down, Esther-chan."

The white tiger glared at the cheetah. "Calm down?! Jiro-kun just got the boot for no good reason! How can I notbe angry about that?!"

Lin looked up from her phone. "Hey, do you have this Jiro guy's number?"

Esther raised an eyebrow. "What for?"

The panther smiled. "Fen told me about him. He seems like an interesting guy from what I've heard. I like artistic types." She blushed. "He sent me a couple of photos too. He's kinda cute."

The tiger sighed and pulled out her phone, showing Jiro's number to Lin, who typed it into her contacts.

Mila looked sad. "I guess that Meredith woman doesn't just stop at gay people."

Hikari looked contemplative. "I watched that play by the way. It seems rather different from the source material. Did Jolene-san make any changes to it? Any Meredithrelated changes?"

Esther thought about this. "Yeah, I guess the villain doeskinda seem more like Meredith. And Jo-chan added a bunch of gay stuff."

The gold lion nodded. "Do you think maybe Meredith did this to get back at Jolene-san?"

The white tiger tilted her head.

Hikari sighed, exasperated. "From what you've told me, I get the feeling that Jolene-san is greatly loved by the Drama Club. I suspect Meredith might have done this to lower her in the eyes of your clubmates. After all, she had to administer the punishment against Jiro herself."

Ceci crossed her arms angrily. "Well if that's her plan, it's not working on me! Jo-chan is a very sweet lady! It's not herfault Meredith strong-armed her like this!"

Esther growled. "It better notwork. Jo-chan has been super nice to everybody in that club. If they turn on her over this, I quit."

Lin smiled as she looked at her phone. "Aww! He uses little emoticon faces! That's so cute!"

The white tiger scoffed. "Already texting him, huh?" She sighed. "What do youthink I can do about this?"

The panther shrugged. "You can try reporting her to Headmaster Gon. Don't expect him to actually doanything about it, though."

Esther angrily gritted her teeth. There has to be some way to get back at Meredith.

The white tiger's thoughts were interrupted, however. Her phone dinged and she checked it. It was from Ibuki. She read it and raised an eyebrow. He was making an incredibly bizarre request of her. But she trusted him, so she was sure it was important.

The tiger turned to face Ceci. "Hey, Ceci-chan. When's the last time you changed your bandage?"

Lee sighed. He just got back from the showers but didn't feel refreshed. He just felt glum about what happened. He laid down on his bed and pulled out his phone.

Lee: "Jiro-kun got banned from Drama Club. He was drawing something that one of the faculty considered to be 'violent and disturbing'."

Haru: "Why was he drawing something violent?"

Lee: "I think it's a coping thing. He's not messed up in the head or anything. It's just how he expresses himself as an artist."

Legosi: "Artists do have some odd quirks like that. He probably shouldn't have been doing that during club though."

Lee: "Meredith went WAY overboard. She was threatening to have him expelled."

Haru: "Oh, god. Meredith. Bleh. She kept hearing the rumors about me and shamed me whenever she could."

Legosi: "I encountered her a few times too. She wouldn't stop telling me I had terrible posture and to stand up straight."

Haru: "Okay, but she wasn't wrong about that."

Legosi: "She still could have been more polite."

Lee: "She hates gay people. But she REALLY hates Jolene for being trans. She has it out for her, big time."

Legosi: "Have you tried reporting her for her behavior?"

Lee: "Apparently, she's too important to fire."

Haru: "LOL! Nobody is too important to fire. I'm willing to bet that crusty old bitch is going to cross a line eventually."

Legosi: "I'm disappointed Headmaster Gon hasn't gotten rid of her already."

Lee: "Well, there's not much we can do about it."

Legosi: "I guess not. Is there anything else that's bothering you?"

Lee: "Well, there's an old memory that's been bugging me recently. It came up in a conversation with Jiro-kun. That time I made Mom cry."

Haru: "Oh, sweetie. That was so long ago."

Lee: "I know. But I hate that I said it. I hate that I hurt my own mother. And I hate that I made Dad so angry."

Legosi: "I probably DID overreact at the time."

Lee: "No, you didn't. I deserved to get yelled at."

Legosi: "I bared my fangs at my own child. That is NOT something a carnivore parent should ever do. Especially if his son is an herbivore."

Haru: "You don't always know what you're gonna do if you get too emotional. I love my mom, but she DID slap me once. She felt bad about it later, though."

Legosi: "I would never raise my hand to a child. Even when I was furious with Lee, I never considered hurting him. That's going too far."

Lee: "Did great-grandpa ever hit you?"

Legosi: "No. Grandpa is a pacifist. He doesn't like hitting anyone, much less a child."

Haru: "That's good. From what I've heard, my grandpa used to hit Dad with a belt."

Legosi: "That's just awful. I don't know how you can possibly say that you love someone and do THAT to them."

Haru: "It was a different time. People have changed since then though, so most parents don't do it anymore."

Lee: "Do you think someday there won't be anyone else like Meredith? That her beliefs will get just as unpopular?"

Legosi: "I'd like to think so. But you'll never see the end of discrimination. Somebody will always hate you for existing."

Lee: "I guess."

Haru: "People that SAY bad things aren't as important though. Meredith is a saint compared to Melon."

Legosi: "You can't completely get rid of evil either."

Lee: "Evil can't be defined that easily though, can it?"

Legosi: "Well, nobody thinks that THEY are evil. Everyone has their own definition. As far as I'm concerned, evil is harming others without remorse."

Lee: "Did you have remorse when you beat up the guys that kidnapped Mom?"

There was a long pause.

Legosi: "They were the ones that decided to kidnap Haru. If they didn't, all of that violence could have been avoided. It's something I HAD to do. I didn't hurt them for fun."

Lee: "Have you ever hurt someone because you thought they deserve it?"

There was another lengthy pause.

Legosi: "I got a little carried away beating up some drug dealers once. I don't regret attacking them. But I DO regret nearly killing one of them."

Haru: "This is news to me."

Legosi: "I didn't want to tell anyone. I enjoyed attacking them way more than I should have. I kinda scared myself, now that I think about it. I think my tail was wagging the entire time."

Haru: "Lee, can we text you later? I think I need to talk to your father privately."

Lee: "Oh boy. You aren't mad at him, are you?"

Haru: "No. Just concerned."

Legosi: "Don't worry about it, Lee. It's pretty rare for Haru to scold me. I'll talk to you later. I love you."

Haru: "Goodnight, Lee. I love you."

Lee: "Goodnight. I love you guys."

The next day, on the way to Drama Club, Lee and Ibuki met up in the hallway. Lee looked concerned. "How's Jiro-kun?"

"He doesn't seem that upset. But it's hard to tell how he's feeling."

Lee shrugged. "Aside from drawing really twisted stuff, he seems like a pretty stable guy. I'm sure he'll get over it."

As they walked through the halls, they heard a familiar voice. It sounded like Pina. "I just need to have a quick chat with you two gentlemen."

Curiously, the chimeric couple turned right to see Pina with his two children behind him. In front of him were a bison and an ox. Lee recognized them as being friends with that bull that got expelled. Sebastian and Viola glared at them.

Pina scowled. "I heard all about how you threw rocks at my sweet little angels when they didn't do anything to you."

The ox snorted. "They didn't have to. Freaks like them don't belong at Cherryton."

The adult Dall sheep chuckled. "I'm afraid, you'rethe ones that don't belong now."

The bison raised an eyebrow. "The hell you talkin' 'bout?"

Pina smirked. "Please. You doknow who I am, don't you?"

Viola grinned maliciously. "Daddy is a superstar. This whole school practically belongs to him." Sebastian made a similar expression. "The faculty is reallyscared of getting boycotted. What he says, goes."

The superstar chuckled. "There's certainly some truth to that. I had a little chat with the faculty about the rock-throwing incident."

Sebastian laughed. "Now you're both expelled!That's watcha get!"

The ox and bison yelled simultaneously. "What?!"

Pina gave them a condescending sneer. "Well… I didn't suggest expulsion. I just brought the situation to their attention and they said they'd deal with it right away."

The bison growled. "Y-you…!"

Pina smiled. "Well, that's all I had to say. Enjoy the rest of your life cleaning the bathrooms of fast-food restaurants or whatever."

The ox charged Pina. Lee was about to step in before he noticed the sheep was calmly removing some sort of canister from his pocket and pointing it directly at the bovine's face.

An orange-colored liquid sprayed out from the bottle and onto the ox's snout and eyes. The bovine started screaming in pain, covering his face and stumbling around blindly.

His bison friend attacked next but just met the same fate. He fell to the ground and rolled around in pain.

Pina smirked. "Pepper spray is a celebrity's best friend." He put the can away and turned to his children, patting them both on the head. "Now. I believe we should be getting to Drama Club."

The twins grinned and spoke in unison. "Yes, Daddy!" The sheep walked off, leaving the two bovines to scream and cry as they writhed on the floor.

Lee snorted. "I wonder if the nurses know how to deal with people that got maced."

Ibuki looked contemplative before turning to his boyfriend. "We're friends with Viola and Sebastian. I wonder if we could have Pina-san demand Meredith be fired and Jiro be unbanned."

The wolf-rabbit considered it for a second but shook his head. "The faculty being ruled by fear is part of the problem. If we're going to have Meredith fired, I want it to be through legitimate methods, not exploiting a celebrity's fame."

The deer-wolf looked over to his boyfriend with uncertainty but then smiled. "Yeah, I guess that makes some sense." He stepped closer and planted a kiss on Lee's lips. "Let's just worry about Drama Club for now."

Esther sat backstage after a big performance, wiping sweat from her brow. Her beloved labrador handed her a bottle of water. The feline smiled as she chugged it before tossing it in the trash. "Thanks, hon."

Olivia smiled back. "You did great. I wish I had even half the confidence that youdo."

The white tiger stood up. "I think we can do something about your fears eventually. You just need practice."

The canine sighed wistfully. "Maybe. I don't know."

Esther pulled her girlfriend into a hug before passionately kissing her on the lips. The lab blushed and giggled.

The two girls's tender moment ended when Lee tapped Esther on the shoulder. "Ibuki needs us for a bit."

Esther looked curiously at the wolf-rabbit.

Lee walked into the hall and the two lovebirds followed.

They stepped into the dressing room. Inside were Ibuki, Jolene, and Fen. For some reason, the deer-wolf was glaring at the panther.

Esther tilted her head. "What's going on?"

Ibuki turned to the white tiger. "I just wanted to have some muscle here. Just in-case."

Jolene looked confused. "Why did you call us here?"

The deer-wolf turned towards the panther. "I just need Fen-senpai to tell me something."

Fen looked somewhat intimidated. "Y-yeah?"

Ibuki reached into his pocket, pulled out a half-empty pack of Paruboro cigarettes, and showed it to the panther. "I want to know why you put this in Jo-chan's coat."

The group gasped as they looked towards Fen.

The panther gulped and started to sweat.