Chapter 74 - The Tower Through New Eyes

It was no surprise that when Louis arrived at the tower on Tuesday he found Go waiting there for him. Instead of his usual teasing, he gave Louis a smile.

The deer approached, then looked around to make sure no one was listening. "Nori."

Suddenly, he was being hugged around the waist. "Louis!"

The buck's eye bugged a bit and he blinked. "Are you alright?"

Nori stepped back quickly. "Yeah...Sorry. I just...I've been waiting for you."

"You have?"

"Yeah...I volunteered for door duty so I could be the first to see you."

Louis raised a brow. "Wow."

"I just wanted to say...thanks...for the talk. It meant a lot to me. Even if it was really deep."

The deer nodded. "It really was no big deal. You needed help."

The red panda nodded. "Yes...I do. It sucks. Really sucks. I just never expected you to be there for me."

Louis snorted. "I know. It's interesting how our relationship has developed."

"But I like it," Nori responded. "I just can't let anyone else find out..."

"You can always message me," Louis said.

Nori smiled a bit more. "I'll make sure I will."

"I need to get on with my day," Louis said. "I'll see you later."

When Louis stepped in, he was greeted by the smiling face of a certain alpaca.

"Hey, Shi! I got your outfit all washed and dried up!" San held the garments up in his arms.

"How did you know I was already here?" Louis asked.

"Well, this is around the time you usually show up, so I've been waiting."

"I guess that makes sense. How are you?"

The other herbivore smiled wide, squinting his eyes. "I'm feeling good today! Ready for more training?"

"Of course I am. Do you think...today could be the day?" Louis questioned.

San squinted more and his mouth was pulled taut as he raised a hand up in a 'maybe' gesture. "I dunno. Hard to say."

"I'm hoping. It's been a while. But then again...If it does happen, Ichi will start involving me more..."

"Ah, don't sweat it!" San said, but his expression looked uncertain. "Shichi is already up in the room, so let's get going! We also dug up an old tracksuit for you if you want."

"No thank you. I like the outfit Hachi made for me."

San chuckled. "Then you should start to do your own laundry! Well, go get dressed and meet up with us."

"Okay, okay." Louis did as he was told, quickly meeting back up with the group in the training area.

Pina was laying on the ground, arms and legs stretched out, and San and Kyuu were sitting cross-legged nearby.

The deer smiled when he saw him, walking over and looking down. "Hey."

The sheep's eyes opened, revealing ocean-blue irises. "Yo."

"What are you up to, Shichi?"

"Nothing, cuz I'm down on the ground."

San snorted. "Was that supposed to be a joke?"

Pina sat up to look at him. "Hey, I tried."

Louis had already facepalmed by that point. "I walked into that one."

"Can't walk into it if it's barely a joke," Kyuu mumbled.

"She got you there," Louis teased the sheep.

Pina slammed his metal heel onto the floor. "Whatever! Let's just get started!"

The buck looked to the alpaca. "Breathing exercises again?"

"Yep, same as every other day. Let's get to it!"

Still nothing. Not even a glimpse of Louis' Chimera.

"It's really fine!" San assured. "This thing takes time, really!"

"How long?" Louis huffed, impatiently. "I feel like I should have summoned it by now."

Kyuu sighed. "Give it a rest, Shi. It's not something you feel. It just...happens."

"Well that's weird," Pina said matter-of-factly.

"I've got the wolf poses down and everything..." Louis mumbled.

San pointed to his own head. "It's more up here than anything else. If nothing else, you're doing good with the general physical training. Both of you."

"Thanks!" Pina beamed.

"Thanks..." Louis inserted. "So what is your advice for my head?"

"Someone's eager," Kyuu quipped as she stepped aside to leave.

San spoke quickly after her. "Just keep doing what you're doing! Think of it as stretching a muscle! You keep doing the same stretch and eventually, you see results!"

"Fine, fine," Louis waved his hand, giving up on pushing any further.

Pina looked around. "Ichi hasn't been around today, huh?"

"Yeah, he's out with Ni and Roku trying to plan for this Okamigumi thing," San informed.

"What exactly is he planning?" Louis asked, eyes flitting to Pina.

San shrugged. "We won't know until he's done gathering the info he needs."

"Well...what do you think he's planning?"

"He probably wants to take their leader out first."

"...The one I met..."

Pina cocked his head. "Hm? Is there a story there?"

"My first day going to the tower, I ran into three Okamigumi members. The leader was wearing a deer pelt."

"Heh, talk about awkward," the sheep laughed.

"I wasn't really fazed," Louis said. "It's hard to be around canines."

"Really? What about your wolfy?"

"Don't even get me started..."

"It's hard to be around him?" Pina raised an eyebrow.

"Not at all. I'd rather be around him than any of you...No offense."

"Ah, I get what you meant." San rubbed his long neck nervously. "It must be hard for you with who we're facing right now..."

"...I try not to think about it," he muttered in response.

"Oh!" Pina shook Louis by the shoulder. "I think Hachi's gonna be done with my outfit today! Wanna go check with me?"

"I would love to," the deer answered. "If only to see how much sexier mine is."

"You wish! Let's go." The two bid farewell to their two trainers and set off for the elk's room.

They found the herbivore smoothing out the uniform on the bed before their ears perked and they turned to the duo, smiling and waving.

"Is it done?" Pina asked, smiling back.

Hachi eagerly nodded, holding it out for him to grab.

Pina took it, his smile only growing wider. "Oh wow. I gotta go put this on. I'll be back."

This left Louis and Hachi alone. As soon as Pina's footsteps were out of earshot, Hachi put their hand on Louis' shoulder, smiling and nodding.

The buck blushed. "Ah...I know, I know. You're welcome for the talk. It was amazing to finally see what you had to say. I hope you didn't mind."

They shook their head.

"I'm sorry I brought up bad memories."

Another head shake.

"Legosi thinks you are beautiful," Louis grinned.

Hachi blushed a bit, looking to the side for a moment, seemingly in thought.

"What is it?" Louis asked.

They looked back at him and shrugged sheepishly.

"I'm...so glad you're you. I think you're right. Meat is evil," Louis said.

Hachi nodded, vigorously. They went to their katana and picked it up, pulling it out of the sheath and making a slow slash with it, looking at Louis expectantly.

The buck sighed. "That's why you fight, I know."

"You don't want me to fight?" Louis tilted his head.

They stepped closer with their sword to their side and put a hand on his heart, the deer feeling it beat beneath their palm. They locked eyes and their gaze said everything. Louis' life was precious.

The buck's eye trailed down to the sword. "What about you? I don't want you to get hurt either."

Their serious face turned into one of confidence. They motioned for Louis to stand back and he did so.

Suddenly, they were slashing through the air and maneuvering quickly, clearly well-versed in the art of the blade.

"But what if something happens anyway?" Louis asked. "What if you get killed?"

A sad smile graced their face and they shook their head. They kept their sword pointed toward the floor as they made a heart gesture with their hand and broke it in half.

For some reason, that hit the cervid harder than words. "Y-yeah...Yeah." He thought for a moment. "A battle with the Okamigumi is coming up, isn't it?"

They rested their hands on the pommel of their blade and sighed, nodding.

"Do you think any of us will..."

They shrugged, seeming more like they wanted to avoid the question than answer it.

Louis adjusted his eyepatch. "I think you should meet Legosi before then. At least once."

Hachi's whole body perked. They simply nodded.

A weight fell upon Louis' chest. "Hachi...I have a bad feeling."

The other herbivore nodded in agreement, placing a hand on their stomach and hunching over a bit.

"Exactly."

Silence fell over them.

Pina broke it with his heavy boots. "Damn, I have no idea how you nailed my vibe down, but you sure did it."

The sheep before them was clad in a black coat made of tough, black denim with metal studs adorning the shoulders and arms. The pants were made from a similar material, much like his normal pants except not ripped. He reached back and pulled three flaps forward onto his head, securing them together to form a sort of hood around his horns.

Louis just...stared.

Hachi carried a proud look, a hand on their hip.

Pina's smile faded as he looked over to Louis. "He's...just going to say his is sexier than mine."

"U-uh...I mean..." He cleared his throat. "Sure."

"I'd look so cool if I had my bat with me right now." The sheep stepped toward Hachi. "I can see why this took so long, though. Where do you even get all these materials?"

The elk waved him off as if to say "Don't worry about it."

"Well, however you did it, you're a miracle worker! Thanks so much!"

They rubbed the back of their neck, nodding.

Louis just kept looking.

Pina opened his arms a bit. "Do you like hugs, Hachi? Because I wanna give you one."

They quickly came forward and scooped him up and spun him around once. Clearly, they needed that and were still eager for more because they looked to Louis next.

"Woah, you're really strong or I'm really light!" the sheep exclaimed. "Shi, let them give you one too! It's fun! Plus you're lighter than me!"

Louis stepped forward and Hachi put Pina down, grabbing him and pulling him close, giving him a spin. They also pet between his growing antlers afterward.

They kept him in their arms after that, looking at Shichi and smiling just seeing their work completed.

"Where would this group be without you?" the sheep asked.

They gave a coy grin at this.

Louis blinked. "You can let me go."

Their ears perked and they stepped back.

Pina clapped his hands together. "Okay, so! Wanna continue with the exploration where we left off yesterday, Shi?"

"I do! But..." He looked at Hachi and decided he didn't mind. He looked back at Pina. "You won't..." There was a gesture. "...again...?"

The elk tilted their head.

Pina jutted out his jaw a bit and scowled. "Eh, I was thinking of looking at the area around the tower. Should be alright if we have our weapons too."

"Right. But...we do need to finish what we started last time."

"Y-yeah," Pina stumbled, glancing at Hachi. "Well, I'm ready when you are."

Louis gave one more hug to the taller herbivore and they left the cell.

Pina side-eyed Louis as they made it to his cell to gather his things. "I hope Hachi doesn't know what we're doing...you kinda let on a bit more than you should have, don't you think?"

"What do you mean?"

"Don't think they should know we were snooping around in the basement, especially because we might have found another way in."

"The thing is...I think this whole Branded thing isn't what we thought it was," Louis said.

"Whatcha mean?" Pina asked, his stride never breaking.

Louis continued to watch him. "I texted Go and Hachi yesterday. It wasn't anything like I thought. Go doesn't even feel like he belongs with them and Hachi is only here because they think meat contains magic that makes carnivores evil."

Pina stopped in his tracks. "I...wow, fuck, of course. Text...they can type..."

"I felt the exact same way when I realized," Louis chuckled.

"How are they? And Go, too? I didn't even think about talking to anyone with the phone..."

"They aren't...Go is very troubled."

"Yeah? I could see it. How do you feel about it?"

"I'm worried, of course. I think he's really lonely and he can't get help here."

At that point, they had reached Pina's cell, where the sheep went to retrieve his bat and notebook. "Sounds like you're getting further invested with more members."

"And Hachi was severely abused and neglected as a child. Their adopted parents were carnivores and they planned to eat them one night," Louis explained. "I think they have the need to take care of others because of that."

"Wow...that's pretty much the story I used. I wonder if they see some kinship with me because of that. Auugh! Now I feel shitty." Pina stood up and shrugged on his backpack, which he used to carry his bat.

"And Go..." Louis looked to the side. "He's addicted to killing. He said it's his favorite feeling but that he hates it. I feel bad for him."

"...Yikes." Pina looked Louis up and down. "You have your gun?"

"Agh, it's in my cell," Louis said. "We'll have to stop by."

"Alright. I doubt we'd have to use it, but just in case."

"Right."

A quick stop by Louis' cell later, the two were on their way.