Chapter 46: Legosi's Training Regimen, Day Four! Wednesdays With Bill And Els!
The very next day, Legosi was sitting down with the other carnivore members of the drama club (excluding Riz and Aoba) for lunch. There were only three herbivores sitting together with them: Haru (who was sitting next to Legosi), Els (who was sitting next to Bill), and Kibi (who was sitting next to Tao). "You know, Kibi, it's really odd how things turned out. I kind of have to thank you for everything," Legosi commented.
Kibi arched an eyebrow in confusion. "What? What do you have to thank me for? If anything, I'm the one who should be thanking you ! You were one of the only carnivores who kept a level head when my arm got torn off and you carried it to the infirmary!" Kibi exclaimed.
Legosi chuckled softly as he remembered everything. "The day and I Haru met, you and I were sent to the gardening club by Louis, remember? And then you left me by myself," Legosi explained.
Kibi's eyes widened and his ears folded down in shame. "Oh gosh, sorry about that! I was freaked out by Haru… There were a bunch of nasty rumors about her going around and I didn't want to get caught up in them. I still owe you that shake," Kibi apologized.
Legosi smiled at the anteater and shook his head. "You don't need to be sorry. Things might have ended up very differently if you hadn't left me," Legosi told him.
Haru chuckled. "I must say, Kibi, you look a lot stronger than the last time I saw you!" Haru said.
Kibi giggled, flexing his arms and showing off the muscle. "Yup, I've been working out with Tao as part of my rehab!" Kibi exclaimed.
"Legosi, buddy! I know you're having fun chatting up with Tao, Kibi, and Haru, but can you come with me and Els? Alex wanted us to help you," Bill interrupted.
Legosi nodded his head and waved Haru and Kibi goodbye, with Haru tickling his chin and planting a kiss on his cheek before making a shooing motion. "Go, Legosi! You gotta get stronger, for me and for yourself," Haru insisted.
The gray wolf then stood up and began to follow Bill and Els through the hallways. He wondered what Bill and Els had planned for him. He saw that they were going to the manga club, and the wolf's interest was piqued. He didn't even KNOW that Cherryton had a manga club! As they entered the small room, Legosi saw that the walls of the room were lined with bookshelves, each of the shelves being jam packed to the brim with mangas. On the table in the center of the room laid a pile of mangas neatly stacked on top of one another.
To Legosi's surprise, he spotted a familiar face in the manga club room that wasn't Bill or Els. Rather, it was his classmate Legom, a female chicken. "O-oh! Hello, Legosi!" The chicken squawked. She seemed a little flustered by the canine's presence.
"It's nice to see you, Legom. What are you doing here?" Legosi wondered, curious as to why Legom was there.
"She's a little bit of a celebrity in the manga world," Bill told Legosi. The flightless bird bobbed her head up and down in response.
"Yeah… My father, Keisuke Itagaki, wrote a really popular shonen manga series, Baki The Grappler. He donated a copy of each volume to the club after I started coming here. One day, I hope I can make a manga of my own!" Legom explained.
Legosi smiled at her reassuringly, giving her a boost in her confidence. "I have the feeling you'll make a great manga when the time comes," Legosi said.
"Legosi, how fast of a reader are you?" Els asked curiously. Legosi stroked his chin thoughtfully, before shrugging.
"I don't know, moderately quick? I have an easier time with manga than regular books because it has pictures to go along with the dialogue and the inner thoughts of the characters," Legosi answered.
Els nodded her head in response, before handing Legosi the first volume of the Baki manga. "We need you to read this and analyze it, pick up on the different fighting techniques," The angora goat told him.
Legosi took the book carefully from his friend before scratching his head in confusion. "How is this supposed to help me train?" The gray wolf questioned.
Bill then gave Legosi a playful brotherly noogie on the head. It didn't hurt Legosi at all due to his increased pain tolerance. "After you analyze it, you and I are going to practice! I want you to try mimicking the fighting techniques in the manga," Bill replied. Legosi gulped before nodding.
The weeks passed by and every Wednesday, Legosi would spend hours in the manga club being lectured by Bill and Els as they overanalyzed the Baki manga and taught Legosi how to pull off the different moves. A good chunk of the day was spent exchanging blows with Bill. The tiger seemed to enjoy their brawls a lot, and Legosi had to admit he was beginning to like it too.
Their fights felt symbolic, ritualistic. Carnivore against carnivore, fighting each other to demonstrate their power. As they fought each other again and again, Legosi started to feel a sense of kinship with Bill that was unlike any other bonds he had formed before. It was similar to the bond he felt with Alex and the other members of dorm 701, but vastly different at the same time.
He was brought out of his thoughts by Bill running at him, growling playfully. The tiger leapt on Legosi and pinned him to the ground, and they rolled over so that Legosi was on top and Bill was on bottom. The feline began struggling wildly, Legosi's weight too much for him to bear. In desperation, he lost control of his instincts and dragged his claw down Legosi's back. "O-ooops! Gah! Legosi, I'm really sorry!" Bill apologized quickly.
Legosi chuckled. Somehow, he hadn't even noticed Bill had hurt him. "It's fine, Bill. It didn't hurt too much," Legosi reassuringly said. He looked in the mirror, and chuckled to himself. "Hey, look, Bill! They look like your stripes!" The gray wolf exclaimed.
Bill rubbed his head as he took his shirt off and examined his backside in the mirror, letting out a hearty laugh as he saw the stunning similarities between his back's stripe pattern and the claw marks he had accidentally given Legosi. "Well damn, you're right! They do look like mine!" Bill guffawed.
"Matching stripes… from one predator to another. I guess that kind of makes us bros, in a way," Legosi mused. Bill pulled Legosi in for a bro hug. "I think that'd be pretty sweet, us being bros," The tiger happily said.
As part of his training, Legosi goes on a run with Jack and Sheila around the city early in the morning. Sheila takes the opportunity to try and get some dirt on Jack to tease him with later! Legosi tells her an adorable, heart warming story. Catch it next time, on BEASTARS: Converging Destinies!
Chapter 47: Legosi's Training Regimen, Day Five! Thursdays With Jack and Sheila!
