Chapter 34: The Knights Of The Black Market! Bring Louis Back, Bill!


Alex and Bill got in Alex's car and the wolf began driving. "Saving Louis!? What the heck happened to him?!" Bill cried out worriedly.

"Well, you know how me and Legosi went to save Haru from the Shishigumi? Louis came with us too. He threw me out of a window and forced me to leave him behind," Alex began.

Bill's eyes blazed with anger. "You LEFT HIM BEHIND!?" The tiger snarled, unsheathing his claws.

"Not my choice! He literally tossed me off of the second floor balcony! Gouhin dragged me off to treat my injuries. But that's not important. He's alive and well right now, but…" Alex continued. The wolf's tone became somber and melancholy, causing Bill to fear the worst for his deer friend.

"But what?! Is he being tortured? Harvested for meat?! And if that's the case, then why am I the one the only one who can help save him? Wouldn't your cop friends be more capable of helping you?" Bill gasped.

"No, it's worse… he's now the boss of the Shishigumi," Alex darkly said. Bill then shot Alex a funny look, taking a moment to process this information.

"He's the boss of that lion gang?!" Bill exclaimed.

"Yeah. The lions took a liking to him, they treat him like fuckin family. They're nice and all, they're not even bad animals. But you and I both know that the black market is no place for Louis," Alex replied. Bill thought about that before nodding.

"That still doesn't explain why you need me of all animals to help Louis. What even am I supposed to do?" Bill wondered.

"You're going to talk to Louis and try to convince him to come back to school and end this crime boss nonsense. As for why you out of all animals? You're the only other animal who knows about Louis's ruthless side, and that he originally came from the Black Market," Alex answered.

Bill gulped, now feeling the pressure of the situation on his shoulders. Alex saw the panicked, nervous expression on the tiger's face, and instantly knew he had to take the feline's mind off of his daunting task. "So, how're your friends?" Alex asked. Bill breathed a sigh of relief, before brightening up.

"Aoba's good, and Els is… well, she's Els," Bill responded.

Alex took note of how Bill blushed when talking about Els. That kind of blush was the same blush he saw Nick get when he talked about Judy whenever the bunny cop wasn't around. Alex decided to try pushing Bill a little bit. "What sorts of words would you use to describe our Angora goat friend, Bill?" Alex inquired.

Bill chuckled a little nervously before answering. "Well, you know! She's kind… pretty… great personality… a manga fan just like me… and kind of hot too! If she was a tigress, I would have nailed her already," Bill told Alex.

The white wolf smirked. "If I didn't know better, I'd say you had a crush on her! But that's impossible . You're only into tigresses with hot butt stripe patterns," Alex teased.

Bill's nervous smile quickly vanished, morphing into an embarrassed and angry look of shock. "H-HEY! I'm not in love with her or anything!" Bill protested. Alex recognized that tone of voice. It was the same tone that males would use whenever they were denying that they were in love with a female.

"Shit, you're actually falling in love with her!?" Alex cried out.

"M-m-maybe! What's your problem with it?" Bill argued.

"Bill, I'm going to be straight with you. I personally don't have anything against interspecies relationships. But, I've seen plenty of them go wrong. Knowing you, you might try and worm your way into sleeping with her. And sleeping with her can go all sorts of wrong since you're a predator and she's a prey. Having sex with Els would put her in a considerable amount of danger," Alex told him.

Bill stayed silent for a few minutes. "You're telling me that if we fuck, I might end up eating her or something?" Bill asked fearfully.

Alex nodded. "Exactly. You can't take any risks. Do you truly love Els, and you really want to spend the rest of your life with her?" Alex asked. "I… think?!" Bill hesitantly answered.

Alex sighed. "I'm going to set an appointment for you up with Gouhin. He'll be able to help you work through your emotions and figure out if your feelings for her are genuine or not. But right now, I need you to stay close to me, and don't wander off. We're at the entrance to the black market," Alex instructed. He parked the car and removed the key from the ignition.

Bill gulped nervously as he saw two animals standing in front of the entrance to the black market, dressed in suits of knight armor and carrying swords. "J-Jesus, they really beefed up the security of this place!" Bill cried out.

Alex looked up and saw the two armored animals, and peered closer, scrutinizing the faces that were underneath those metal helmets. He got out of the car, and Bill meekly followed behind. "HALT! Who dares to enter the sacred market of meat?" one of the knights cried out. Alex burst into laughter.

"Hahahaha! This is fuckin hilarious and awesome! Sabu, Free, where did you get this stuff?!" Alex asked. He recognized Free from the scar on his left eye.

"We went exploring in the manor basement and found these knight suits of armor and swords. Apparently the manor used to be a safe house during the great predator/prey war. Then Agata dared us to put the suits of armor on, saying he'd pay us fifty bucks. Then Louis came out of the room and started cracking up at the sight of us wearing these things," Free began.

"Oh, that's not even the best part! He made us swear loyalty to us and named us knights! Then he sent us to guard the entrance of the black market and told us to make sure that no students came in here. Speaking of students, I know for a fact that the tiger behind you is a student. He can't come in and buy meat," Sabu continued.

Bill shook his head. "Actually, I'm here to see a friend," Bill told them.

"He's with me, guys. We're here to talk to Louis," Alex told them. The two lions sheathed their swords, fumbling to put the swords back in their scabbards.

"Ah, you're here to talk to the boss! Very well then! Oh, I almost forgot. That scary gray wolf who saved the white dwarf rabbit? We saw him walking through the market on our way to the entrance. What do we do if he tries to leave?" Free asked.

Alex sighed. "He's free to come and go in the black market as he pleases. Don't get into a fight with him," Alex answered. Bill and the white wolf walked through the alleyways, Alex always keeping an eye on Bill to make sure he didn't get lured off or distracted by any of the vendors.

Bill looked a little uneasy, his eyes shut tight and continuously muttering to himself. "Think of Els, think of what she'd do to you if she found out you had eaten meat from this god-forsaken place…" Bill whispered to himself, redirecting his thoughts towards something else.

Alex was impressed. Clearly, Bill's love of Els was strong, more than simple meat lust that could be found in most pubescent carnivores his age. It was a good sign for his future together with the Angora goat. However, simple emotions of love wouldn't be enough to keep Els safe. Since Legosi had gone to his appointment with Gouhin, Alex decided that on the way back from the manor, he and Bill would pick up Legosi as well as formally introduce the panda to Bill and explain the tiger's predicament.

They finally arrived at the Shishigumi manor, and Alex knocked at the door. Agata was the one who opened the door, smiling at the wolf who had brought him and his boyfriend Lem together. "Alex, great to see you again! I honestly thought you weren't going to come back today. Who's your feline friend?" Agata greeted.

Bill blushed nervously as Agata gave him a friendly look. "I'm Bill.," The tiger shyly said. He was a bit on edge since he knew the Shishigumi were a gang of lions, and a few groups of lions held contempt for tigers.

"Aww, don't be so nervous! Any friend of Alex's is a friend of ours! Well, as long as they aren't cops. Come on in!" Agata chuckled.

Alex and Bill came in, the tiger was impressed by how fancy and regal the mansion was. "Would love to stay and chat but Bill has some business with Louis," Alex told Agata.

"Okay, talk to you later!" Agata cheerfully replied. Bill and Alex walked up the stairs and saw Ibuki standing outside of Louis's room.

"Alex, who's your accomplice?" Ibuki inquired.

"This is Bill, a fellow member of the drama club at Cherryton Academy. Aside from me and you lions, he's the only other animal I know who has knowledge of Louis's upbringing within the black market," Alex explained.

"I assume you brought him here to try and convince him to leave this life of crime behind?" Ibuki guessed. Alex nodded in response. Ibuki sighed, his shoulders slumping and his chest deflating.

"All right then. I want him to stay as the boss, but this really isn't a good place for him. You can try to convince him, but I should warn you, that deer's really stubborn," Ibuki told Bill. The tiger nodded before heading inside Louis's room. Alex watched Bill go inside the room, not following him. He thought that Bill's chances of convincing Louis were at their best if the striped feline was by himself.

Louis finished the last of his salad, and jumped up, startled by Bill entering the room. Instinctively, the deer threw his empty salad container at Bill, the tiger ducking down and narrowly avoiding getting hit by the flying plastic. "Nice throw," Bill chuckled. Louis's emotions died down and he returned to his usual cool and composed self.

"Well well well, if it isn't my old friend Bill. What brings you here to the black market? Here to buy your meat and enjoy the pleasures of being a predator?" Louis drawled.

"No, Louis. I'm here because we need you back at the school," Bill responded.

Louis snorted. "You, a predator, need me, the prey who's next in line to become Beastar, back at the school? Doubtful," Louis sneered.

Bill frowned. "It's true! It might not look bad now, but give it a few months time and the school will be coming apart at the seams. Ever since you stopped showing up to school, more and more fights have broken out between the carnivores and herbivores," Bill stated.

"I'm sure you'll find a way to bring the conflict to an end. Sing a song or something," Louis apathetically responded, yawning in boredom and disinterest at the tiger's predicament.

"Dude, come on! We miss you. The whole drama club misses you! Even I miss you!" Bill cried out in anger.

Louis was shocked. "YOU miss me?" Louis gasped.

Bill hesitated before responding. "I-I do! You made me strive to become better! I've never wanted to follow a prey's example before you, Louis," Bill told him.

"Well, that's very touching Bill. But this is the life I've chosen to follow," Louis replied. Bill thought about that. He sighed as he realized that no matter how hard he tried, he wouldn't be able to convince Louis to return home. The red deer was too dead set in his conviction to be the boss of the Shishigumi.

"You're right, Louis. I can't force you to come back with us. And if you want to be the boss of the Shishigumi, make the black market a safer place for carnivores, then go ahead. I won't try to stop you. There's one last thing that I want to do with you, though," Bill said.

"Oh? And what might that be?" Louis asked curiously.

Bill reached into his shirt pocket and brought out the documents he had found at the livestock holding facility. Louis's eyes widened as he saw the faces of the animals that he had been imprisoned with. "How did you find these?" Louis asked.

"I found the place that had kept you captive when you were a cub… that's how I discovered you came from the black market in the first place," Bill explained.

Louis examined and took photos of the documents, texting the pictures to Alex. They might prove useful. He stood up and shook paws with Bill. The tiger sniffled and embraced the deer, hugging him tightly, but not tight enough to make it hard for the herbivore to breathe. "My, my, Bill! I didn't know you were such a big softie!" Louis teased. Bill broke off the hug and released his grip on Louis.

"Stay safe, Louis," Bill told him. Louis nodded his head, and Bill left the room.

Alex saw the dejected look on Louis's face and instantly knew that the tiger had been unsuccessful in convincing Louis. "Damn it, it didn't work!" Alex groaned. Bill had been his last hope to persuade that delirious deer to give up being the Shishigumi's leader.

"Sorry Alex," Bill apologized.

Alex sighed. "Well, come on Bill. We have one last thing to do in the black market before we head back to Cherryton," Alex said. He told Ibuki and Agata goodbye before leaving the Shishigumi manor, heading towards Gouhin's clinic. There, they'd meet back up with Legosi and also introduce Bill to the panda.


Next chapter, we take a break from Alex, Bill, and Legosi's side of the story to check in on Haru! You guys will love what'll happen to her in the next chapter, so stay tuned for more of BEASTARS: Converging Destinies!

Chapter 35: What's Happening With Haru?