Chapter 14

Okay, just three more…

Rob breathed heavily as he strained to push the bar from off his chest.

Two more…

After extending his arms all the way up, he slowly and carefully let it drop back down, only to repeat his previous lift.

One…more…!

The young lion could feel each of his pectoral muscles stretch and burn—his arms shaking as they begged for relief from their labor. He was so close to giving up completely, until a pair of white hands firmly grasped the bar between his own.

"C'mon, you got this! One more push, one more push!"

At the familiar voice's beckoning, Rob dug his feet to the ground, driving all his legs' power to the rest of his body.

"Hrrmmp—! Grrr…!"

"All you, bud! Let's go!"

"HrrrnnnnggGGRAAAAHHH!"

With one final spurt of power, he forced the heavy pole upwards hard and fast. He then quickly set it back upon the rack and allowed his arms to flop on either side of the bench as he gasped for air.

"That's the way. Awesome job."

Still heaving, he turned his gaze up at the upside-down visage of a grinning bighorn ram.

"...Still, I'm surprised. Six hundred pounds should've been an easy eight-to-ten reps for you. Don't tell me you're losing your touch, Robbie?" Joe said as he inspected the heavy plates on both ends of the rod.

The young carnivore sat himself up from off the bench, slowly massaging his mildly-twitching pectoral. "I w-was stuck in a h-hospital bed for a w-wee—a week, you know. Phew…and th-then there was also… t-the rehearsal and p-play."

"Mmm, fair enough."

The young lion wiped his forehead with the hem of his t-shirt, and then took a moment to bask in the almost-euphoric feeling he had obtained from his "pump." Thanks to all the "pleasure" chemicals released from his brain as his muscles quickly filled with blood, he could feel the anxiety he had accumulated beginning to melt away.

Full glad Rob was that his uncle started training him as early as eleven years old. It has served well as an effective form of therapy. Although, it has become a bit of a double-edged sword now that he has gotten older and stronger.

Whenever he lifts an extraordinary amount of weight or exposes his large, defined physique in any way at the school gym, many students would stop whatever they were doing to gape at the spectacle—almost negating any pleasure he felt after a strenuous workout due to his shy nature. If only he had the same boundless confidence his adoptive sibling always exuded—never really caring who would stare, the carnivore would often think to himself.

"By the way, whatcha got left after the bench?" the young ram suddenly asked.

"Huh? O-oh, well…I w-was planning on doing s-some weighted p-pull-ups, and f-finish at the punching bag. W-why?"

"Weeelll, I was thinking…wanna switch up the punching bag with a little hard sparring?"

Rob blinked. "S-sparring…?"

"Yeah, it's been a minute since we last duked it out! Whaddya say?"

"B-b-but, Joe…!" the large feline began to stammer. "W-we were j-just kids b-back then and I…was s-still the same s-siz—same size as you. I-I don't know if—"

"Aww, C'mon bro!" Joe exclaimed enthusiastically, slapping hard against Rob's back. "You're not that much bigger than me! Maybe, like, ten more inches?"

"That's n-not the point. I-I'm a c-carnivore, so I m-might be t-too…" The young lion paused as he looked down at his claws. He just finished benching six hundred pounds, and that wasn't even his maximum weight. If he used that same power in a fight, Joe might end up—

"...What does being a carnivore have to do with anything?"

"...H-huh?"

The bighorn sheep folded his arms, looking squarely into Rob's greenish-gray eyes as he simpered. "There's a lot more that goes into a fight than just a guy's species, y'know. Besides, you know me—I'm the best B.M.A fighter around and have taken plenty of hard hits while still coming out on top! So, don't be thinkin' it'll be that easy to take me down!"

To a casual observer, the large sheep's declarations seemed merely a result of hubris and flippantness, but the young lion knew better. For years, he has watched Joe train and temper his body harder than anyone, even with his natural talent. He's one of the only animals Rob knew that can back up his wild claims..

"Y-yeah, but still…"

"Oh, c'mon. Please?" the ram began to beg, clapping his hands together in front of his snout. "We've got a regional meet coming up and the rest of my teammates are already sparring with each other. Plus, you'd be the perfect partner to take all my heavy hits during practice! Whaddya say?"

At that moment, Rob was suddenly reminded of his uncle's story about his relationship with his dad a few days earlier, and how they, too, trained together.

"Well, i-if it's just…s-sparring, then I g-guess that'll be f-fine…after I'm done."

"Awesome!" Joe grabbed either side of the carnivore's broad shoulders with a squeeze. "I owe ya, pal! I'll see you in the ring!"

With a final broad smile, Joe sauntered off to another machine across the school gym. Rob found it fascinating how much he and Uncle looked just like each other—down to their horn size and muscle mass—but were on completely opposite sides when it comes to personality and mindset…

…

The young lion groaned in dismay.

It was supposed to be a quick sparring session, but the small crowd of students gathering around the raised boxing ring made it look more like an actual match. Apparently, some animals nearby had heard tell of his and Joe's plans and the news spread quickly across the gym.

Maybe I should've said 'no,' after all, Rob grumbled inwardly while wiping his hands down his face.

"Huh, I guess all that talk about a fight going down was legit. Nice."

Without bothering to turn around, the troubled carnivore responded, "No, B-Baako. It's just…p-practice."

"Heh. Well, you can't exactly blame anyone from wanting to check it out. I mean, an herbivore and carnivore actually duking it out? Even I'm curious to see how it will go."

Rob scowled as he turned his head towards the smirking boar. He always hated being in front of an audience, which was why he was glad to be put in the backstage crew soon after joining Drama club.

"Hey, Robbie!"

The young lion winced from Joe's enthusiastic call and wave from the ring.

"C'mon, let's do this! I got us signed in for just ten minutes!"

All eyes fell upon Rob as he shrunk from embarrassment.

"That's your cue, big guy," Baako said, slapping the carnivore's backside. "Break a leg up there. Not for real, though. Ha ha ha!"

The large feline sighed. It appears there was no getting out of this now. He soon shuffled his way towards the ring as the crowd parted in his wake.

By the time he stepped over the rope, Joe had already peeled off his tank top, causing several female sheep in the group to swoon. Noticing them, the ram grinned as he gave them a casual two-fingers salute.

Always the showman, Rob thought as he watched the ewes squeal in adulation.

He then proceeded to take off his own shirt, doing his upmost to ignore the gasps and murmurs from the other animals, and soon stepped into his fighting stance.

Right leg forward…feet firmly planted wide apart—but not too wide…hips lowered and squared while at an angle…forearms up…all right, just as his uncle has drilled into him. While Rob was quickly running through the basics in his head, he noticed something off about Joe's starting position.

The young ram seemed to be standing slightly taller and was bouncing a little on the balls of his feet. Isn't that something a kangaroo kickboxer would do?

"What's the matter? Don't zone out on me now," Joe said.

"O-oh, right. S-sorry." The young lion refocused and the two animals stepped towards each other.

Everything started out normally so far, with the bighorn throwing a few basic punch combos against Rob's forearms. However, when the carnivore began countering with his own strikes, Joe deftly swerved his head while weaving his body to the side.

Huh?

Rob decided to throw a quick right jab-left cross combo this time. He found himself punching the air once again.

What the…? What's going on?

The young lion was expecting to make contact with Joe's forearms or even his horns—as it was normal for bighorn martial artists to stand their ground when coming to blows. This bobbing and weaving was something he was not accustomed to.

"Aw, what's wrong, Robbie?" the bighorn sheep bantered, bouncing lightly on his feet. "You're a lot slower than usual."

"...Mmmrrgh."

Rob didn't know what the herbivore's game was by antagonizing him, but he didn't like it. Deciding to go more on the offensive, the young carnivore increased the speed of his punches. He managed to keep up better with Joe's movements, forcing him to block more often. Still, he couldn't land a definitive blow.

Getting a little more frustrated, Rob soon attempted to clinch the nimble ram. Before his hands could even touch Joe's shoulders, the young lion's leg buckled from a sudden hard low kick to the side of his knee. Then—

Thwack!

The large feline felt his teeth clack together as his jaw clamped close from a devastating headbutt underneath his chin. As he staggered backwards, he heard the crowd of students clamoring excitedly. Rob managed to catch himself on the rope behind him while rubbing the area that was throbbing with pain.

"Aaahh—! J-Joe! I th-thought we were just s-sparring!" the young lion exclaimed in frustration.

"I said we were hard sparring, didn't I?" said the ram as he advanced slowly. "Still, this is the first time I've seen someone shaking off a headbutt to the jaw so quick."

Rob was then taken aback by the bighorn sheep's sudden low chuckles. "I knew it. I knew you carnivores were a tough bunch..."

"W-Wha—What are y-you…?"

Joe snorted, shaking his head lightly before lowering it and his stance..

"N-no, no, n-n-no, hold on! Y-you c-can't—NNGH!"

The young lion barely caught the young ram's horns before they collided with his body. Rob's feet skidded backwards across the floor as the bones in his hands and arms creaked from the jarring impact.

This was the first time he's felt the full force of a bighorn sheep's headbutt. It was so powerful that it could've easily shattered the feline's ribs if it actually made contact.

"Rrrgh—! J-Joe, please…! L-Let's stop," Rob begged, gritting his teeth. "Th-this is g-getting t—getting too dangerous!"

"Are you…kidding!?" Joe grunted. "You're tanking me...with your bare hands—nnggh!—like it's nothing! And you're worried about…being in danger!?"

The bighorn ram then jumped back, making Rob almost stumble forward by the sudden loss of opposition.

"This is the perfect chance to check whether or not my skills are really up to snuff. No way I'm passing it up!"

The young lion was puzzled. He knew Joe was fiercely competitive, but he's never seen him this intense before. That look in the ram's eyes while smiling broadly was also disconcerting.

"Hraaaagh!" Joe lunged towards Rob once more, forcing the carnivore to put up his hands in anticipation of another tackle, but was met with a right hook to his nose instead. With that area being softer and more sensitive, the strike felt much more painful.

"Gack! S-stop it!" Rob yelled, jabbing blindly in retaliation. No contact.

He then raised his forearms in front of his face, successfully predicting and blocking another barrage of punches.

"C'mon, Rob! I know you can do better than that! Hrrrmph!"

"Graagh!" The young lion's guard broke from another headbutt.

Joe unleashed another kick to the same knee, and then an uppercut to his chin. The ram continued his relentless assault, not allowing the young hybrid to regain his balance.

The crowd roared in excitement, with many chanting Joe's name while a few rallied behind Rob—coaxing him to fight back. The cacophony from the other animals only served to agitate him further—something which Baako noticed right away as he grimaced, eyeing the tip of the feline's tail that began twitching.

"Seriously, what're you…holding back for!?" Joe cried in between attacks, sounding a little irritated. "Those claws, teeth, and muscles—hmph!—aren't just for show, y'know!"

Stop it.

"Show me what you're really made of!"

Stop it!

"Stop acting like some old punching bag and fight!"

No! Stop trying to make me—!

A third low kick on Rob's already-tender knee joint caused the large feline to almost kneel. Joe then clenched his fist tightly in preparation for another powerful hook.

"BE A CARNIVORE, ALREADY!"

As the bighorn ram's fist closed in on the young lion's snout, it was quickly caught and wrapped around by the latter's large claw.

An unfamiliar fury rose from deep within his chest—a burning heat that threatened to consume his senses entirely.

In milliseconds, Rob was already standing up—his ears now flattened, fangs bared, and face almost completely scrunched up—with his free claw swiping diagonally towards Joe's head.

In those same milliseconds, Rob glimpsed shock and slight panic in Joe's hazel eyes. The heat from that unusual rage suddenly dissipated as quickly as it came, and then the young lion instinctively folded all his fingers inward while his palm remained open.

Wwhhaaaappp!

A female student let out a scream as many in the crowd gasped in horror. The bighorn sheep reeled wildly, tumbling backwards.

"O—! O-oh no…! J-JOE!"

Before falling to the ground, Joe stomped mightily with his right foot, successfully keeping himself upright.

"Oh, d-dear Rex! I-I'm sorry…! I'm s-so sorry!" Rob cried, his fingers held over his mouth and already on the verge of tears. "I d-d-didn't mean to—! A-are you o-oka—!?"

"Hn—! Hehehehahahahaha!" The bighorn fighter's howling laughter echoed all throughout the gym as everyone stood in awe and bewilderment at his unexpected mirth.

"Hahaha…! Oh, man! I knew you were a real juggernaut, but woooo! That was legit!" Joe turned himself towards the young lion and resumed his previous stance. "Alright! We still got a few minutes together, so let's—...hm?"

Rob began slowly shuffling backwards as he started to whimper. "Ah—! Nnng—!"

"Woah… Robbie, are you o…kay…?" Joe trailed off when he noticed something dripping down the side of his forehead. After touching it and bringing his fingers within his view, his eyes grew wide at the sight of his own blood. "Oh, crap…!"

"N—No…! I-I—!"

"Woah, woah, woah! Now, j-just stay calm, big guy." Joe said as he raised his palms in front of him. "It's not as bad as it looks, I swear."

The ram face briefly changed to a bloodied alpaca.

"Aaug—arrrrgghh!"

The animals in the crowd below murmured loudly, not knowing what to make of the frightened carnivore who was now hugging himself and trembling uncontrollably. Baako merely groaned as he dragged his palm down his face.

"Woah, woah! It's okay!" the bighorn sheep tried to console Rob while covering his bloodied forehead with one hand. "I'm perfectly fine! S-See? I'm still standing, right?"

Joe's attempts at pacifying ended in failure, however, as the young lion now began hyperventilating.

"Urk—! Okay…! What else? Uh—Oh yeah! D-Do that 'math thing' you always do. Let's see, um…!" He continuously snapped his fingers with his freed hand as he frantically thought. "U-Uh…! Two time twe—no, too easy! W-wait, hold on! I got this! Er, a hundred and…no, no nononono! Robbie, stay with—!"

Thud!

The panic was too much for the young lion to bear and simply collapsed on the ground.

"ROB!"

Rob could feel the bounding steps of the bighorn ram as he approached.

"Speak to me, Bro! Urggh! Hey, someone help me get him down…! Hey, yo…! Yea… ou! ...et up…re…! C'm…ry up…!"

The world continued growing increasingly darker as the voices began to fade into the distance.

Then…silence.

…

"C'mon, buddy…! Work with me here—wake up…!" Joe said, kneeling next to the young lion while fanning his face with a small towel.

After getting assistance from a nearby polar bear in carrying Rob out of the boxing ring, he was laid on his flat on his back on the gym floor. The bighorn ram—along with Baako—then motioned the crowd of enthralled spectators to move back in order to give the carnivore space to breathe. Some animals started taking out their phones in order to record the unusual event, much to the herbivores' irritations.

About a minute had passed and Joe had already wiped away the blood from his forehead, as to not send Rob back into a panic. He refused to stir, however.

"D*mmit. Why did it have to turn out this way?" he lamented, his chest heavy with guilt. "C'mon, man. You gotta get up…! Please…!"

Another half a minute went by and still there was no response. That was when Baako walked towards Rob with a nonchalant expression and immediately doused his face with water from an open sports bottle.

The young carnivore scrunched his eyes and began coughing and sputtering, rousing himself awake.

"Robbie…! Oh, thank goo—whoa, easy there! Take it slow..." Joe supported Rob's head as he carefully raised him up.

"You're welcome. And, thanks," Baako said before tossing the now-empty container towards a slightly annoyed male bison.

The young lion sat up and looked around, dazed. He then got startled by Joe suddenly wiping his face with the towel—rather roughly.

"You're okay now, buddy," he exclaimed cheerfully. "You really had me worried, though."

Afterwards, Rob stared at the smiling herbivore for a moment, and then his ears began to lower slightly as his greenish-gray eyes began to moisten.

"Uh—H-hey, no worries! I'm perfectly fine! See?" Joe consoled while rapping his own forehead with his knuckle. "I'm built for bashing and getting my head bashed. You've seen me do it plenty of tim—W-woah, hold on! Where're you—!?"

The young lion scrambled to his feet and began pushing his way through the crowd.

"Robbie! Hey! Come back!" The young ram's words fell on deaf ears and could only watch while Rob stumbled towards the open door—his forearm wiping his eyes.

"Rob…" Joe's gaze fell upon the ground and his ears began to droop. He had never felt so crappy in his life.

"Keh! What a loser!"

Joe's ears twitched. "He had, like, a hundred pounds over him and then he just wussed out like a little rabbit girl!?"

The herbivore swerved his head to find that the disgruntled voice belonged to a peeved spotted leopard complaining to a grinning white tiger.

"You're just mad 'cause I won the bet. Hah, easiest two thousand yen in my life!"

"Grr, whatever!" the leopard growled. "Seriously, what kind of self-respecting carnivore gets his butt handed to him by a small grass-eater? He's making the rest of us look bad…"

"Oh, he is, is he? Think you could do better against a 'small grass-eater'?"

The spotted carnivore turned his body. "Huh!? Who's askin—!?" He fell quiet as Joe approached slowly, smiling calmly while cracking his neck and knuckles.

"If you're so sure of your carnivorous strength of yours, then meet me in the ring."

As Joe stepped closer, the leopard retreated his, crouching slightly with a fearful look in his eyes.

"Oh, and you know what? Let's make things interesting. You and your striped buddy there can both take me on! Should make for an easier win for you, then. Whaddya say?"

"N-no, no no no! That's okay!" the white tiger frantically cried, waving his hands in front of his face. "H-hahaha, ha…he was j-just foolin' around. Right?"

His nervous feline companion responded with quick nods.

"Oh, okay. Fine." The bighorn sheep's brow furrowed suddenly as his mouth curved downward. "But, next time you wanna talk s#&$ about me or my brother, you better have the balls to say it to my face! Got it!?"

The leopard hid a little behind the white tiger as they both backed away. Joe glared as he looked around the room, causing many other carnivores to avert their eyes. The herbivores began speaking amongst themselves, in awe of his strength and the way he commanded respect from the heckling large cat. Though, some began wondering why Joe called Rob his "brother."

The ram sighed, dropping his arms to their sides. He then noticed Baako looking up at him—his eyes narrowed slightly and arms crossed.

"...I-I'll...go talk to him," Joe said.

"You better…" the boar nodded.

The large sheep made his way through the receding crowd and began jogging towards the door Rob ran out of.

Author's Note

The gym scene was pretty easy to write since I pump iron myself. But, I don't look nearly as good as those two—more like a strong bear with a belly! Plus, I can only bench up to 245 pounds. I'd LOVE to have the muscles of a big cat! XD

In other news: Aaaaaaaaagghhh! I don't know how to feel these days! I'm totally bummed that the Beastars manga is ending in Japan this week, but totally hyped that Season 2 of the anime is coming early next year! It looks so good!