Chapter 100 - Wake Up

Louis' eyes opened slowly and he felt a weight on him. "Mmm...what time is it...?" He grabbed his phone and looked. A little past ten. Great.

Said weight snored softly, his wool a mess. Pina looked completely and utterly at peace.

Louis had an arm around him and he smiled. "Hey...Pina."

Pina's breathing slowed, his eyes still closed. "Hey, Louis." He smiled.

The buck sighed. "You were already awake?"

"Just resting. Are you upset that you weren't actually watching me sleep?"

"What? No, of course not. Don't be daft," Louis said. "I'm sure I'll see plenty."

"Yeah, you can watch me sleep later." Pina's eyes opened, revealing their stunning aqua color. "Mmph, how long has it been since we got off the phone with our boys?"

"A few hours. Ichi will probably be calling us in soon. Unfortunately," he sighed.

"I'm surprised he wasn't insulted by your hybrid Chimera," Pina noted. "I guess he's, like, uh, a collector. Just wants them no matter what."

"We don't know how he really feels about it. He might have complained to Ni while they were copulating last night. Maybe he unloads in multiple ways like that."

Pina let out a carefree laugh. "You really truly just say 'copulate' unironically, don't you?"

"Fornicate as well."

"God, yes. Can't forget that one, grandpa." Pina planted a kiss on Louis' forehead. "Wanna do something before Ichi crashes the party?"

"You have an idea?"

"Find Nori and Hachi and get some breakfast?"

"Ooh, yes, of course," Louis nodded. "I wonder what happened after Nori left. He must be so embarrassed."

Pina's smile faded. "Oh, yeah. Hope he doesn't, like, disown us or anything."

"He might already have..."

"Noooo I love that lil' guy!" Pina pounded Louis' chest gently in a mock tantrum.

"I wonder if Kai would disown us if he saw what Nori did...Considering we know..."

"Hmm, I hope not. I mean, the dude who runs an LGBT alliance club should be open to poly relationships, right?"

"I don't think that part would matter."

"Well, he'd better be okay with it. That dude is too entertaining to stop being friends with." Pina sat up and stretched, back cracking as he yawned.

"Entertaining? I don't think I would call it that..."

"Well, we'll find out at the Meteor Festival." Pina fumbled around for his leg, still naked.

Louis watched, closely. "I think Dom will squeal once he finds out. You know, like he does."

"Oh, he will." Pina brought Kai, the leg, over once he found it as well as a pair of underwear. "The drama club folks are in for a surprise, too."

"Oh, he will." Pina brought Kai, the leg, over once he found it as well as a pair of underwear. "The drama club folks are in for a surprise too."

"I bet they're going to think that it was some big plan this whole time. To drop out, one by one, so we could ride into the sunset and be together. Of course, I didn't drop out." His hand moved up to his bad eye.

"You didn't exactly graduate either," Pina pointed out. "I just hope it's not too awkward to be there. Sometimes I feel like we all abandoned them."

"You do?" The buck blinked. "I figured we were doing what we had to."

"Of course we did, but from their view? The drama club basically fell apart."

"But that was because of Riz and the segregation."

"For you guys, but not me and Bill. From their perspective, I just up and left, and then Bill followed after me." Pina shook his head and grumbled. "No use thinking about it, though. We had good reasons and they might not even be mad."

"They probably assumed you left to do something greater," Louis said, slipping his hand into Pina's. He hadn't even gotten up.

"Yeah. That's Pina: always has his eyes set for bigger and better things." The sheep rubbed the sleep from his eyes and began to slip on the underwear.

Louis' eyes didn't shy away from the show. "Okay, maybe it wasn't the best guess...It's definitely bigger, though."

Pina snapped the elastic waistband against his body and looked back at the deer. "That's not a dick joke, is it?"

"Not at all," his eye shifted up to Pina's.

"Good. Definitely, the only bad part about this whole thing is me learning I have the smallest dick in the squad." Pina strapped his leg on and stood up.

"Someone had to and it was not going to be me," Louis teased.

"That's true since you top the biggest boy." Pina walked around and stretched his legs. "If I hadn't been taking Bill for all these months you might have made me limp."

"I didn't? Drat," Louis turned on the bed and set his feet on the floor, stretching his arms.

Pina walked around and found his clothes, piecing together an outfit little by little. "It was still very nice," he assured.

The deer sighed. "I wanted to blow you away."

"You did, boo." Pina walked over and rubbed one of the deer's ears. "You made me feel like I was the only animal in the world last night..."

The cervid looked up, his warm smile setting across his face. "Truly?"

"Truly," Pina smiled. "Now get dressed so we can further win over these folks."

Without hesitation, Louis gathered his outfit and put each part on, one by one, a feeling of comfort in his chest as he realized his plan was a success.

Hachirou's eyes open to the familiar sight of the bed against his cheek and, as with every morning lately, he immediately felt a different kind of weight than Louis did in his chest. One of hopelessness and sadness. Well...at least he was feeling things now.

There were little scribbling sounds from beside him and he swore he wanted to groan out. The goat turned over and blinked, seeing Atsushi there writing in a small brown notebook. Fucking hell.

The deer's small back was to him, his feet planted firmly on the ground as he scribbled away, unaware that his companion had awoken.

Hachirou frowned and turned back over, grabbing the pillow and putting it over his head. Those scribbling sounds...Those damn sounds...I don't want to hear them.

The scribbling stopped. "Oh, I didn't think of that," the deer muttered, and the scribbling was replaced by erasing, moving the bed ever so slightly.

Hachirou scooted further away at this. Just quit...

More scribbling, and then a pause. Ichi looked over at the clock by the stand, well into mid-morning. He set the notebook down and stood up to stretch. His neck was killing him, but he couldn't feel greater. Shi's chimera was unlocking new possibilities, as would Shichi's. It was only a matter of time...

Hachirou felt himself get less tense. He closed his eyes again. The blanket was halfway down his naked body and his arm hung over the side of the bed.

Ichi stretched more and made straining noises as he walked around the room. Part of him wanted a drink to cloud his senses a bit, but looking back at the bed reminded him. He stretched one more time and took a drink of water instead before sitting back on the bed, this time his back against the wall and feet on the covers. He picked up the notebook again and started his notes once more.

Hachirou's eyes fluttered open. Are you kidding...

In Ichi's notebook were notes upon notes as well as sketches of what he saw yesterday. Sketches of his, San and Kyuu's Chimera. How they could interconnect...

The goat felt himself get hotter and more irritated as Atsushi, no, Ichi, continued to scribble away in that damn journal.

And it kept going. Ichi hadn't slept. He hadn't eaten. He didn't care. Juu had been spotting more and more wolves close to the tower, and it was obvious the Okamigumi were close to retaliating. They were going to be a test run.

Finally, Hachirou had enough and he turned around. "Do you have to make so much fucking noise?!" He yelled.

Probably for the first time in his life, Hachirou saw what a startled Ichi looked like. He jumped up, throwing his notebook and pencil in the process, his eyes wide as saucers as his legs bent up into his body defensively.

Hachirou continued. "There is someone trying to sleep right next to you. Do you have no respect?! Fuck."

Ichi put his palms down on the bed and grit his teeth. "It's well into the day! Aren't you usually up by now?"

"Does it matter?! You were up all fucking night!"

"Working!" Ichi sighed and pinched his brow. "You have your own room to sleep in."

Hachirou turned back around. "Whatever, Ichi." He never called him that in private anymore.

Ichi blinked and pursed his lips. "I don't expect you to understand, but this is essentially my life's work coming to a culmination. I thought you were my right-hand man. Support me in this, and if you want to sleep go somewhere else. Or I could go somewhere else. I'm flexible." The deer looked back down at his work, sour taste in his mouth.

"I was your right-hand man but now I'm your partner. I do whatever you want and hold you on a pedestal but it looks like I was mistaken what this was. You just want someone to make you feel good about yourself and I know that you would jump at the chance to drink again."

Ichi took a sharp intake of breath and for a moment an ethereal skull appeared above his head. "You know what this means to me! This takes priority! You've always known this! Why so emotional now? All those times I tried to make you feel something and I got nothing!"

"Really? You're trying to use your Chimera on me?" Hachirou hissed. "And you know that it's hard for me to...feel..." He said the word quietly. "But I thought...I was more important than this. I thought I was your new dream..."

"You are important, but this," Ichi gestured all around them. "We had this conversation the other day. I can't just drop everything for you."

"...Bullshit."

"I can't!" Ichi stood up and started pacing the room. "Besides, if Shichi is able to summon his Chimera then we have five! Once we train on combining them we can take on any group back here! This can end by next year! I'm just asking you to have some goddamn patience!"

"You're asking me to wait for you to get killed!"

"Oh, this again." Ichi rolled his eyes and crossed his arms. "I've lived this long, I'm not going to die."

"You're 21! You haven't done anything! I'm 26 and I haven't done anything. But I fell for you."

"I haven't done anything? What about all the fights we've been in and the carnivores we've brought to justice? That's nothing?"

"Wake up! You were gambling that Louis could even summon his damn Chimera. And you're gambling that Shichi can!"

"I'm making investments that are paying off! No different than animals that play stocks! You're either good at it or you're not and it's quite clear that I'm good at it!" Ichi's voice was crescendoing to match Hachirou's, shoulders rising as he started breathing more heavily.

"Why does it matter?! Why do you care so much about what other animals do?! We could have a real life together!"

"And just ignore all of the herbivores suffering back here! That's what you're telling me to do!"

"It doesn't have to be your fucking responsibility! You don't owe them anything! Your life has sucked so far and you're wasting it by still being in this fucking black market!"

"And it's worth it if I can make even one life better! Like those kids! Where would they fucking be if not for us!?" Ichi willed the tears that were forming in his eyes not to show.

Hachirou frowned. "So you're trying to be a hero? Newsflash, you're not until it's over. And if you die, this whole Branded thing was a waste of time. What if you wake up one day and all of your member's throats are slit?"

"I-" Ichi couldn't think of what to say. His mind was clouded with rage. He grasped his skull, feeling like it was about to burst. Shadowy tendrils sprang from his feet while his breathing rate increased.

Hachirou sat up and grabbed his underwear, sliding them on. "You're so in your own world you don't even realize one of your precious little members eats meat!"

"Wh-what? What fucking lies are you spitting?" Ichi looked up and peered through his fingers with his emerald eyes. "Why would any of them eat meat?"

"Because, you blind fuck, one of them is an omnivore!"

Ichi's Chimera flared up, the green fire in its eyes burning bright. "GET THE FUCK OUT!" it bellowed, almost taking up the whole room from Hachirou's perspective.

"No," Hachirou said.

The specter shot forward, and Hachirou could feel thin fingers wrap around his throat and attempt to squeeze. "GET! OUT!"

The goat's throat croaked as the deer squeezed it tighter. "G-good...Kill the..o-o-only...animal who ever...loved you..."

The words hit the buck's ears, and he loosened his grip. The shadows around him petered out and he slumped onto his knees, arms shaking. "N-no. No. No, no, no, no, no."

Hachirou rubbed his neck and he stood up, grabbing his clothes and shoes. "Goodbye, Ichi." The horned herbivore made his way to the door. "I hope one day you understand what you had and what you lost."

The door shut, and as he walked away Hachirou could hear a muffled scream.

Down further in the tower, the other Branded members, except for Kyuu and San, sat at the table, eating breakfast and talking and laughing. Louis and Pina made no mention of what happened the night before, and neither did Nori, of course.

"So, not half bad hash browns, right?" Roku asked. It was the first meal any of them had eaten that he made.

"For a newbie, they are pretty tasty!" Juu said, swallowing a bite while she hummed to herself.

Hachi merely smiled at the horse.

"I mean, it's not that hard to make," Pina pointed out, sticking his tongue out.

"Shuddup, pretty boy," the horse snapped, but he was smiling.

Nori nodded. "Yeah, they're actually pretty good." He sighed. After he had seen...Louis and Pina in action, he assumed they wouldn't come back so he and Roku watched a movie together. He felt relieved that they weren't still on bad terms.

Roku felt the same, and the normally grumpy-seeming herbivore was a lot more lively today.

Louis had already finished his plate. "I suppose I was really hungry."

"Fatty," Pina mumbled.

Louis' head turned and his jaw fell. "Really?"

Pina held his hands up. "Just teasing."

At that moment, Ichi appeared in the doorway, casting a shadow into the room. Everyone's heads turned.

Nori readied a snide remark. "Hey, Ichi—"

The buck, one hand in pocket, strode forward and looked down upon the small animal. "Is it true?"

Nori furrowed his brows. "What?"

"Do you eat meat?" Ichi's voice was calm and steady, but the malice underneath was clear.

Nori's ears perked. "Pfft...what? Are you crazy?"

Louis felt his throat become dry.

Hachi's heart sunk into their feet.

Pina's mind began working furiously for a way out of this situation.

Ichi sighed. "Ni said you did. His counsel is...often times invaluable."

"Ni did?! You honestly believed him when you two are canoodling all fucking day? How could he possibly know?"

Ichi's face screwed into an ugly scowl and he brought his hand, and gun, out of his pocket. "Shut. Up."

Nori's ears went back. "What are you...?" His hands raised slowly.

Pina stood up and made a gamble. "Woah, hey. What evidence did Ni give you?"

Ichi turned to him. "He simply stated it. Go is an omnivore."

"And where is Ni now?" Pina asked, arms crossed.

"He...is out on a job."

"Is he really?" Louis stood up. "You look pained."

Hachi stood up after that, just to be ready.

San and Kyuu walked in just then and were taken aback by what they stumbled upon.

Nori kept his hands up in front of his chest. "Ichi...think about this."

"Okay. I am thinking. I am thinking about all the times you've left without being instructed."

"Ichi, what's this about?" San asked, but the buck paid him no mind. Kyuu simply looked uncomfortable.

Nori furrowed his brows. "You said we always could! That we didn't have to stay in the tower all the time!"

"Correct. What were you doing, then?"

"Just exploring, living my life. What else? You're attacking me just because I'm an omnivore? Where was this confrontation before?"

Louis stepped to the side of his chair. "There's no reason to do anything rash, Ichi."

"Yeah, seriously," Roku added. "Why would he eat meat and be in the Branded? It makes no sense."

"You're right. It doesn't. But Ni would have no reason to lie." Ichi held his gun up and inspected it.

"He's never liked me," Nori said. "He was lying to you..."

Ichi looked around and pointed at Louis, Pina, and Hachi. "Why do you three look so afraid?"

Pina shook his head. "Because it's a scary accusation!"

"And you are threatening to kill our friend," Hachi added. Everyone's heads turned at their voice.

Ichi blinked. "You...you spoke..."

"This is serious," they said, remaining calm.

Ichi looked all around him, surrounded by animals that almost seemed like strangers to him. And they were, in a sense. Even San and Kyuu. His head still swimming with anger at the confrontation with Hachirou, he raised the gun up slightly. "You...what if you're all lying?"

"Lying about what? Ichi, what's happening?" San approached slowly.

"Ni told me that Go eats meat!"

San recoiled back a bit. "That's...that's nonsense! Has to be..."

"I don't!" Nori retorted.

Louis exhaled. "Would you kill me if you found out I ate meat?"

The red panda's head looked at him, staring blankly.

"You wouldn't. Couldn't," Ichi stated.

"Why not? It's food like any other. I have a mouth," Louis said. "Maybe I just savor the flavor. I am a filthy carniwhore, after all. You never know."

Ichi took a deep breath and then let it out. He was feeling claustrophobic. "You don't eat meat, Shi. You love carnivores too much. Probably the only good aspect about that trait."

"You don't know that. You have no real proof that I don't. Just like you don't have any real proof that Go eats meat." He walked slowly around the table, standing behind the red panda. "But if I did, would you kill one of the original Branded?"

"I..." Ichi looked down at his weapon. "I would have to."

"Then I do," Louis said, wondering if he really would pull the trigger. He stepped in front of Nori. "What happened between you and Ni?"

"None of your business. And you don't eat meat," Ichi stated. He looked to his side, but saw nobody there next to him.

"Maybe not alone. How do you know more of us don't?" Louis asked.

"You wouldn't be here, then," Ichi argued.

"Ichi, calm down." Pina stepped closer. "Just relax..."

Juu shook a little. "Um, excuse me?"

Ichi glanced over, his expression softening. "Juu, yes?"

"Mr. Ichi, um...What if we...did all eat meat? Would you..." She swallowed, her hands fumbling under the table.

The buck groaned and stuck his gun back in his pocket. "That's the thing! You all don't! I know you don't! It's useless to even think about!" His eyes leveled on Nori once again. "However...Ni saying that about you just...made things click in my head. It's just a feeling I have..."

Nori lowered his hands. "So you...won't kill me?"

"You don't eat meat?" Ichi asked.

"O-of course not!" He heard the stutter in his voice and his heart leapt.

Ichi stared down at him. "Okay...but I'll have my eye on you." He looked up at everyone else in the room. "And you all...let me know if you find out he does." He turned to leave.

Kyuu and San stepped out of the way and stared at him as he left. Everyone else in the room sighed and sat down.

"What the fuck was that all about?" Roku asked.

Nori stayed standing. "Louis..."

The deer turned around. "Just so we're clear, I don't eat meat." He looked around. "You were all supposed to say you eat meat too so he couldn't tell the truth..."

Pina cocked his head. "Well, it worked without that."

Juu blinked, sitting back in her chair. She raised her small blowgun and sighed. "Thank goodness I didn't have to use this!"

San raised his eyebrows. "You would have poisoned Ichi?"

"What? No! This is a tranquilizing dart, silly billy!"

"Let me call Ni," Roku said, bringing his phone out. "Get to the bottom of this."

Nori looked to the door where Ichi had left. "I think I'm gonna go lay down." He didn't wait for a response as he left.

Louis looked at Pina.

The sheep had sat down, elbows on the table and hands folded in front of his face with a very intense expression.

"He's not answering..." Roku mumbled as he put his phone away.

Hachi sighed. "They must have had a fight. You can tell that Ichi's spirit had bad energy emanating from it."

San blinked. "O-oh! In all that excitement I didn't even realize you talked!"

"I would not call that excitement, San," they frowned.

"Excitement doesn't have to be good," San argued.

Louis stood up. "I'm...going to go talk to Nori."

"Want me to come with?" Pina asked.

"Feel free."

Hachi opened their mouth to speak but didn't end up saying anything.

Louis and Pina quickly made their way to Nori's cell, where they found him throwing his possessions on his bed.

Pina took in the sight and quickly, but quietly, said, "So where will you go?"

"Anywhere. I can't be here anymore," Nori said. "Now that...he knows."

"This is all so weird." Pina rubbed his arms like the room was cold. "We'll help you any way we can, but once you're gone you obviously can't come back."

The red panda stopped, looking down at his belongings. "...I don't think we'll be seeing each other anymore."

Louis swallowed. "But you don't have anywhere to go. If you stay, we can protect you—"

"Thanks for what you did back there, Louis, but you saw what Ichi did right? If I had simply said yes to eating meat, I would be dead right now!"

"I...We don't know that for sure. He's young. He was just in a mood."

"Ni knows I eat meat! I don't know how he found out but I can't be here. He'll confront me soon and I don't know if I can keep the lie up. I still need to eat meat consistently and I can't do that if they are suspecting me...I don't want to die."

"There were those squatters in the nearby building, but that might be too close to the tower..." Pina placed a finger under his chin as he thought.

The red panda shook his head. "I still have the money from what Ichi pays us. That should get me by...for a while."

Louis stepped back as Nori moved past him to grab one more thing. A backpack bag of unknown origin. "But...I'm worried about you."

"I've made it this far, yeah? I'll be okay. If Ichi goes too far...Use that sauce you were holding for me."

Pina looked over at Louis, and then back at Nori. "So it was poison."

"Yeah, but not for him," Nori sighed. "Anyway...You're going to have to continue the BMAB without me."

"Alright..." Pina looked down at him, biting his lip, but then his face brightened. "Oh, didn't that Riley guy give you his number or something? You could ask him for help maybe..."

"I'm not going to burden him," Nori said. He set the backpack down and unzipped it slowly, stopping in the middle to think, but then finishing opening it. "Or anyone anymore."

"Will you say goodbye to Hachi?" the sheep asked.

"I didn't plan on saying goodbye to anyone, really. It..." He sunk down. "...hurts."

Louis stepped forward. "What about everything we planned...? You were going to get better...What about Roku?"

Nori shook his head. "I'm a selfish animal, Louis. I kill for pleasure; I run so that I can live without planning on even saying goodbye to the ones who somehow care about me."

The deer swallowed. "I can't stand thinking about you out there alone...I don't want you to die."

The small omnivore smiled, still putting his things in the bag. "On the bright side, you won't know I'm dead."

"You're tough, Nori. You won't die. But you need others in your life. We won't be in the Branded forever, and when the day comes where we leave, we'll find you." Pina's face was serious as he delivered that promise.

Nori turned and looked up at them, tears rolling down his cheeks. "It's kinda funny how scared I am..."

Louis felt his own tears. "There isn't anything we can do to make you stay? You don't have to be alone..."

"Even if you did, Louis, I'd just leave anyway while you guys were sleeping. I'm sorry."

The deer looked down. "You were prepared for Ichi to find out, weren't you?"

"Yeah...I knew that if he ever found out, I'd run away. I guess...I didn't see myself having friends like you to make this harder. Damn you two..."

"And Hachi and Roku," Pina reminded, quietly. "Sorry, don't want to make this harder on you..."

"They'll forget, eventually," Nori said. The last thing he grabbed was his claws, which he stared at. "I never belonged here, anyway."

"I don't know about that, Nori. You're pretty unforgettable." Pina sniffed. "Do we get hugs?"

The red panda zipped up his bag and opened his arms. "Okay..."

Louis and Pina both leaned down and squeezed him.

Nori sniffled. "Thank you guys for everything. We had some moments where I actually felt like I was living there."

Louis squeezed tighter. "Keep living. Wait for us."

"Heh..."

"No...it was just enough, Pina," Nori said, ear twitching. "I'll try and find it, then. I'll try and find happiness for you...and myself. And when the time comes where we meet again..." If it comes. "...I'll be smiling."

Pina smiled, tears starting to stain his wool. "Good. That's good!"

Louis wiped his eye. "At least let us walk you out..."

"We have to watch out for Ichi anyway," Pina pointed out.

Nori nodded. "...Okay. Let's hurry it up, then."

And so began another descent of the tower that felt like an eternity. Each minute felt like an hour and each second felt like a minute. All three animals had heavy hearts, unsure of the fate that awaited the omnivore.

Louis sighed. "So...what about your phone? Will you still text us?" It was hopeful, but he had to try.

Nori looked forward. "It's a called a burner phone for a reason."

"Oh..."

"Guess you couldn't get your dad to help him out, huh?" Pina nudged Louis.

Nori raised his hand. "No, he can't. I don't want his help. I've killed a lot of animals...done a lot of things...It's too dangerous."

"Do animals out there know who you are...?" Louis raised a brow.

"...I've made a few mistakes."

The buck blinked. "What do you mean?"

"It's a little late to be worried about that now, huh, Louis?"

Pina sighed as they continued their march. "Well, don't do anything we wouldn't do, bud."

"I'll probably do everything you wouldn't do," Nori chuckled. They reached the bottom floor, spotting Hachi manning the door.

The animals already knew they would be there as during breakfast, Roku had mentioned that Hachi had door duty.

Nori walked forward and looked up at them. "Oh, yeah. So I guess I will be saying goodbye to you, after all."

Hachi blinked. "Goodbye?"

"I'm leaving. For good."

Immediately, the elk teared up. "No! Do not go!"

Nori's ears went back. "Shhh! Quiet! Nobody else knows!"

"Did I do something? I will not do it again!"

The red panda put a hand on their torso, patting. "You didn't do anything, big...animal. I just can't be here anymore. Ichi knows."

"But he does not, really!"

"He knows," Nori repeated. "He's smart. It's only a matter of time. Cracked ice."

They cried. "What does ice have to do with it!"

Louis felt pained watching.

"He's already made up his mind," Pina stated in a resigned manner.

Hachi wrapped their arms around him. "I am sorry I ever did anything bad to you! I am sorry!"

Nori squeezed them. "Hachi...It's time to let go. Deep down...we all knew this was coming. We tried to build a tower of good things but...there wasn't a strong base to begin with."

Hachi sniffled and sobbed. "But what will happen! Where will you go! What will you do!"

The red panda grabbed their arms and slowly removed them from him. He looked to the door. "I guess that's for me to find out."

The elk couldn't help but squeeze him tighter. "But I have just made a new friend who eats meat! I understand now!"

Nori sighed, turning his head to look at Pina. "Guys...Can I speak to Hachi alone?"

Louis wiped his eye with a finger again. "So this really is goodbye?"

"I mean...yeah."

The deer came forward and put a hand on his shoulder. "Good luck, Nori. We'll see you again...one day."

"I wish you'd quit saying that like you know." Nori let out a soft laugh.

"If we want it enough, it'll happen," Pina assured. "Good luck out there."

Louis looked at the omnivore, taking in every detail he could so he would never forget his face. The way his fur curled on his neck, the two dark streaks of fur below his eyes, the thick eyebrows, the white of the outline of his ears, the way his chin fur looked softer than the rest, the fear in his eyes...

Nori gave him one more smile. "Thanks again."

At that, Louis felt his emotions well up, and he turned, quickly walking back to the stairs and, peeking back one more time, disappearing.

Pina waved once more to the animals and followed the deer.

After the confrontation in the kitchen, Ichi immediately returned to his room and locked the door, where his legs promptly gave out. He curled up on the floor, hyperventilating as visions of his teammates eating meat filled his head. Surrounding him. Eating him. Hachirou stood behind them, and when the deer reached his hand out for him, he turned his back.

Subsequent to that, an indeterminate amount of time passed, and once Ichi was aware of his surroundings again he was lying on his bed. He must have dragged himself up there at some point and fell asleep. He rubbed his forehead, now aching. Today had not gone as planned.

Suddenly, there was a knock on the door.

Ichi sat up, hands over his eyes. "Yes? What is it..."

"Mr. Ichi? It's Juu..." She didn't sound the least bit perky as she usually did. Of course, she wouldn't, after that display.

Ichi cringed at the memory. He didn't want her to see that. "Come in..."

The small sparrow opened the door, looking inside. "Um...I came back from my usual survey rounds and...I found something."

"Show me."

She held up a small folded paper, holding it out for him. "It's a letter."

Ichi's heart skipped as he reached out for it. "Oh?"

The sparrow let him grab it and stepped back. "I read it. Sorry..."

The buck opened it up and scanned the words.

There was only one line to the letter. That was all. But it got the point across. That hard point that Ichi would have to accept immediately, no matter how tough it was. Unlike what he originally thought, the letter, unfortunately, wasn't from Hachirou, like he had hoped (His eyes had glimpsed the sender and he had a little hope), but instead was from Hachi and Nori. They had even taken the time to physically draw the emoticon at the end of the line.

Gone for good ;3

- Hachi and Nori

To be continued in Book 2 - Part 2...