Chapter 16

Rob walked into the drama club locker room to find many animals talking with one another more excitedly than usual. As soon as several saw him walking by, however, they grew silent. Others even shushed some of their peers that were still conversing.

What now? Rob groaned inwardly while his club mates began watching his every move. And just when things were beginning to become less awkward between them, too.

The young lion did his best pretending not to notice the unflinching gazes as he opened his locker and began undressing.

"Uh, H-hey, Rob?"

"Hm?" The young lion had just finished unbuttoning his shirt as he glanced towards the gray wolf walking towards him.

"H-hey, Legoshi. How are y-you?"

"Fine…thanks. Um…" Legoshi shifted his feet as he nervously scratched his cheek with one claw. "Uh, about yester—mm, I mean, how are you feeling, first off?"

"Oh…I'm o-okay now. J-Joe and I talked it out, and resolved e-everyth…thing, I think."

"That's good to hear…Hmm."

Rob was bent down, sitting on the bench while untying his brown dress shoes, but could tell from his voice that there was something else on the canine's mind.

"Did…s-something happen?"

"N-no…! Well, kind of. It's—Mmm, how do I put it…?"

Looking up, the young feline saw Legoshi shifting his eyes, like he was struggling to find the correct words. After a few moments, the wolf finally opened his mouth.

"Yo, Rob!"

Both carnivores turned their heads towards the entrance to find Bill the tiger coming in and making a beeline towards them. Stopping in front of Rob, he bent himself over slightly and began staring intently at him.

"U—Um…Y-yes? W-what is it?" he asked, slowly leaning himself backwards.

Bill said nothing, at first. Only after quickly scanning the young lion's face did he finally speak: "Did you really get your a$& whooped by some little goat and ran away crying?"

Rob briefly squeezed his eyes as he shook his head. "Wai—! D-d-did I what!?"

"Last night! Everyone was talking about—a super-huge lion getting into a fight with a goat and got K.O'd! That's you, wasn't it?"

"H-Huh!? W-what are you talking—?"

"Hold on a sec. There was a vid uploaded from yesterday…" Bill hurriedly pulled his phone from his pocket. After a few taps, he started scrolling with his thumb.

"...Huh?" The Bengal tiger made a puzzled expression and began swiping his screen in earnest. "Wait, where'd it go?"

Rob looked to Legoshi, who was now scratching the back of his head as if ashamed.

"Hey, it's gone!" cried Tao the panther, looking at his own smartphone with an anteater.

"'Deleted video?' Even all the FangTube ones got taken off…" remarked the mongoose, Kai.

Many other animals followed suit as each checked for themselves, only to be met with the same results. Everyone began wondering how the videos got erased from the many different sites so quickly.

"Are you freakin' kidding me!? Ugh, I knew I should've downloaded it…" The tiger grumbled, rolling his eyes.

"WHAT'S G-GOING ON!?"

Everyone in the locker room recoiled from Rob's bellowing voice. His face then became red after realizing how loudly he shouted.

"...Dude, I just told you: people saw you fighting an herbivore at the gym and lost. There was even a clip of you two duking it out and then passing out on the floor," Bill responded.

The young his jaw fell open as he finally comprehended what he was going on about.

Some animals actually recorded what transpired last evening!?

He buried his face into his hands in dismay. Oh, how he wished to suddenly turn transparent and leave undetected.

"Uuuunnnng—W-wait a second…" Rob suddenly lifted up his head. "'G-goat?'"

"Uhh…Yeah?"

"J-Joe's a sheep, not a g-g-goat."

"Huh, who's Jo—? Wait, you mean you actually knew the guy?"

Every eye in the room now became riveted on the young hybrid as many moved in to hear more of what he had to share.

"Um, I-I, uh, w-well—" Rob stumbled, but then took a deep breath before continuing. "Y-yes, I know h-him."

"Huh…So, why'd this 'Joe' character wanted to pick a fight with you?"

"Nobody…p-picked a fight. W-We were j-just s-sparr—just sparring."

His clubmates murmured, confused at the lion's words.

"Sparring? Sure looked like an actual brawl to me," the Bengal tiger crossed his arms.

"Hey, Aoba. Did it look like a practice match to you?" the mongoose questioned the bald eagle.

"...I don't know. My roommate just showed it to me once last night. Plus, the video was too low-quality to tell."

While everyone began speculating amongst themselves, Rob lowered his head, embarrassed that the whole school potentially could have seen what happened between him and the ram. He did find it odd—and comforting—that all the footage was deleted, though.

"Hmph. I bet that herbivore was fighting dirty…"

The young lion twitched. What?

"...You think so?" inquired the brown bear.

"Of course. How else could a little herbivore take down a lion, especially a freakishly huge one?"

Rob raised his head, gawking at the striped feline. He couldn't believe what he was hearing.

"Hey! Little guys can be just as tough, you know," argued the anteater, scowling as he expanded his chest and placed his fists on his hips.

"Easy, Kibs. I'm just sayin'," Bill said while casually raising his hands in front of him. "I'd get if he was fighting a gorilla or bull, but let's be honest: sheep are pretty weak, even by herbivore standards."

The young lion felt a similar heat rising from his chest, albeit much weaker.

Nevertheless, his fists clenched and the top of his striped tail began flicking wildly.

Legoshi was the only animal in the room to notice Rob's change in demeanor.

"U-uh, Bill?" the canine sheepishly muttered as he nervously kept his eyes on the hybrid. "M-maybe you should stop—"

"Still, I gotta wonder how he pulled it off," he chuckled without hearing the grey wolf's warning. "H*ll, I bet Robbie here felt sorry for the tyke, gave him a couple of free hits and then he totally ran with—"

"You…t-take that back."

"Huh, what's that n—?"

Bill, along with everyone in the room, were taken aback by the young lion's glare.

"I s-said…take…that…back." Rob growled.

"Woah…what's up with you?" the Bengal tiger asked. "All I said was that—"

"Joe isn't w-weak or small. A-a-and he'd never use d-dirty tricks to w-w-win a—to win a fight. He's…c-captain of the B-B.M.A club for a r-reason!"

Bill blinked, practically grinning while making a bewildered expression.

"...Seriously? How'd a kinky club like that get past the school council?"

This time, Rob was giving the tiger a confused look while mouthing "Wha…?"

"Dude…he said B.M.A," groaned Aoba, facepalming as he slowly shook his head. "It's Bighorn Martial Arts, not…w-whatever you were thinking of just now."

Many of their fellow club members began to snicker, especially the herbivores.

"Oh…! R-right, I knew about that." Bill, now with egg on his face, briefly averted his eyes as he rubbed the back of his neck.

"A-anyway…isn't it just them throwing a few punches and bashing their heads into each other? It doesn't sound like something that'd be too hard to handle."

"Do you r-really think…you'd last t-two minutes in the ring w-with him?"

Bill raised an eyebrow as he frowned.

"What? You think I can't take a couple of hard hits? I've been in plenty of scrapes myself and I was left standing in the end."

He briefly shifted his focus towards Legoshi's, who responded with narrowed eyes and a look of mild disdain.

"Besides, you already know how easy it'd be for us big cats to overpower an herbivore, being the biology wiz kid that you are," Bill sneered. "C'mon. Tell me I'm wrong."

The young lion said nothing. He understood better than anyone present what makes a carnivore's body so powerful: from the bone structure of their skull and jaws to the strength found in their muscular and cardiovascular systems.

Rob bowed his head slightly, knowing there was no denying the truth behind the tiger's mocking words—especially not after what happened the night before.

"Hmph." Bill smirked almost arrogantly. "So, tell me: you still think I'd lose to that sheep you're so in love with?"

"Y-yes," Rob answered immediately and matter-of-factly. "You w-will lose, a-and would probably b-be sent t-to th—to the hospital i-if you h-happen to make J-Joe angry."

The whole group gaped, with a few gasping and muttering to each other.

"...W-what!?" the Bengal tiger snapped. "What makes so d*mn sure he can beat me!?"

"You…w-wouldn't be able to p-protect your body against o-one of his h-head—headbutt. Not w-with that… s-soft belly."

"Urk—!" Bill looked down at his stomach and then glared at the young lion, growing a little red. "Why you…"

"A-also, you…s-suck at fighting. E-even while you f-fought Legoshi seriously a-at rehearsal, y-y-your moves were a-all s-slopp—all sloppy and your s-stance was really weak."

Rob jerked his head a bit and snorted in mild disgust like a bighorn. "With the way… y-you flail around, even S-Sis—er, J-Joe's sister could b-beat you up..."

"Oh, d*mn…!" "Wooaah, did Rob just roast him…!? Our Rob!?" "*p-pffft!*"

As all the animals clamored around the two big cats, Bill's fists trembled exceedingly, and his teeth clenched so hard as to transform his mouth into a deadly grin.

"Now, you listen here, you speech-impaired piece of s&$#...!" the Bengal tiger snarled, pointing threateningly at the young lion. "I don't know where you get off acting all high and mighty, but I'm sure as h*ll not gonna take it from some pansy-a$&, herbivore-loving crybaby who runs away with his tail between his legs after getting slapped around a few times!"

"Whoa! Easy there, Bill! Don't get so worked up!" cried Aoba, grabbing the feline by the shoulder.

"You know, just looking at you always kinda pisses me off!" he continued ranting, paying no heed. "I'd have figured you being more of a bad-a$&, what with having both lion and tiger's blood in your veins. But then I see you always trying to get buddy-buddy with herbivores and acting all wimpy whenever someone even looks at you funny! You have any idea how embarrassing it is seeing someone with my species genes acting like some pathetic little lamb all the time?"

Rob's brow knitted even more closely together as his body began to tremor. He did not remember asking Bill to feel embarrassed on his behalf, especially when it came to his relationship with herbivores.

"What, don't tell me you're gonna start crying now? Rex, you are so pathetic!" the striped feline snarled. "When the h*ll will you decide to grow a pair and start acting like a real carnivore!? Huh!?"

The young lion could feel his claws almost piercing through the skin of his palms as he squeezed his fists harder. "A real…c-carnivore?" he mumbled. "Is th-that what y-you want me t-to be…?"

Everyone was expecting tears to stream down Rob's face, but were instead treated to an angry gaze pointed toward the Bengal tiger.

"After every—e-everything that's happened, e-especially with...T-Tem…" The students in the room recoiled at the mere mention of their late clubmate's name. "I d-don't like the i-idea…of t-trying to b-be like o-on—be one…especially…a b-bloodsucking, immoral th-thug, l-like you!"

Bill's face momentarily became blank as his mouth hung slightly open. Then, the fur at the back of his neck stood on end while his face twisted into savage fury—with his fangs completely bared and his ears flattened.

"You…& #&% B*STAAAAARRR—!"

All the animals braced themselves for a violent clash between the two large cats, but their expectations were quickly dashed after Rob stood up.

The furious tiger lunged forward to strike, but his fist was immediately caught by Rob's larger hands. Frustrated Bill tried swinging with his other fist, but it, too, was deftly stopped.

Both big cats struggled for a short time with each other until the young lion was victorious in slowly overpowering his opponent.

Bill growled and strained to fight back and release himself from Rob's iron grip, but even with his natural strength, the liliger's size and tempered muscles reduced him to a helpless cub that was being restrained by a much larger parent.

"G-grrrr…! D-D*mmit… d*mmit… d*m...mit… why…?" Bill's legs began to buckle. His eyes, which were still filled with anger, now became mingled with self-pity and defeat. "That body…and power…why did someone like you have to be born with all of it? You…who threw away your pride…as a true carnivore…?"

Rob twitched, taken aback by Bill's words.

'Threw away his pride?' What…did he mean by that?

"Are you both done…?"

Every animal in the locker room turned their heads towards the doorway.

Louis was leaning crossed-armed against the wall, with a single crutch next to him. He casually gazed at the two felines grappling with one another.

"I need not remind you, Bill, that you and Legoshi already caused a great fuss up on stage. Do you truly expect to get off scot-free again, pulling the same stunt here?"

The striped carnivore flinched, and then cast his eyes downward, gritting his teeth again in frustration.

"Let him go, Rob."

The young hybrid simply looked at the red deer for a moment, but soon loosened his grip on the Bengal tiger's closed hands, at his instruction.

"Everyone, hurry up and continue getting ready," Louis instructed. "The production may have ended, but there are still drills and exercises to be done. Let's not keep the others waiting."

With nods and affirmations, the club members wordlessly went back to their lockers and went on with changing their garments.

As the animals were doing so, Louis hobbled over to Rob on his crutch. He was in trouble, he thought.

"Um…L-Louis…?" he began as his voice cracked. "I'm…s-sorry. I g-got a bit t-too worked u-up and… I know I-I should've just…j-just…"

"Hmph. So, you are capable of getting angry," Louis smirked, looking quite amused. "And you even know how to stand up for yourself."

"Huh? W-well…I…"

"*sigh* Would that you have shown that kind of spine more often, then perhaps animals would come to respect you a little more."

The young lion wrung his hands shyly, looking down. He was never one wanting to seek attention or command respect from his peers. He only wishes to…Wait...

What…does he want?

Rob then felt a hard jab on his chest.

"Bill is right in one regard, anyway," the red deer said, looking squarely into Rob's greenish-gray eyes. "You were, indeed, blessed with a strong and powerful body. Learn to take pride in that, at the very least."

And with that, Louis walked himself out of the door, leaving the carnivore more than a bit perplexed.

Again with the 'pride' thing. Seriously, what does that even mean, he wondered frustratingly.

"Hey…You okay?"

Rob turned to the concerned gray wolf. "I-I'm okay. S-sorry…you h-had to see me l-like that."

"It's okay," Legoshi said, shaking his head. "That Bill was being a real jerk, anyway."

"Y-yeah…"

Rob never really liked Bill. His personality was very similar to Joe's, but there was a certain arrogance to him that always rubbed him the wrong way. He also didn't like how he would casually talk about all the women he's had sex with, almost as if they were successful conquests. The young lion already had to hear enough of that nonsense from his promiscuous roommate.

Least of all, Rob hated how Bill would talk about herbivores, like they were inferior to predators in all aspects. It normally wasn't outright, but the implications were always present in his speech. His ex-girlfriend was the same way, which made things much harder between them.

He owed his life to herbivores. And he can't just stand by and let others talk down or hurt them—especially when it involves his adoptive family.

As he continued getting dressed, the young lion glanced sideways at Bill, who was now patting his stomach after removing his shirt.

"Keh…who's he calling 'soft?' I've plenty of muscle here…Just because he's got abs and all that…" The Bengal tiger continued muttering angrily to himself as Aoba sighed and patted his shoulder…

…

"—Seriously, how could you be so stupid!?"

"Sis, c'mon! I said sorry and everything to him already."

"Do you honestly think I care? You know how bad his anxiety can get, especially when there's blood involved! And now practically the whole school has seen him pass out from an attack!"

Maria had been censuring her brother outside his club locker room for almost all ten minutes since she barged in and pulled him outside—paying zero mind to the other athletes that were mostly undressed and covering themselves in embarrassment.

Joe was brought to his knees with his head moderately bowed. Even though he was larger and a little bit older than his twin, he always found himself powerless against her tongue-lashings.

"*sigh* We're just lucky the videos were all erased before things got bad."

The young ram opened one of his closed eyes and looked up at his crossed-armed sibling. "Look…I'm really sorry. And you're right. I was being pretty selfish and stupid...Still, it was a pretty awesome fight. I gotta get Robbie to show that move he di—"

Maria snapped her head down towards her sibling as she shot razor-sharp daggers from her eyes, causing Joe to turn away his own head in fright.

Calming herself down a bit, the ewe continued. "Listen…we promised Dad we'd look out for him, remember? Right now, he doesn't have a lot of allies here besides Baako—and maybe even one or two of his clubmates. Not after what happened."

"Yeah...I know."

A few more moments passed and then the door to the locker room opened.

"Hey, Cap'n?" said a dark-brown bighorn, meekly peeking from the other side. "It's about time for practice."

"Right, right…I'll be there soon…"

The dark ram then turned to the ewe, who was now wearing a neutral mien.

"H-Hey there, Mari…You're looking well."

"Well, I better get going. Now, Joe. I better not hear you pulling the same stunt again or I'll end you myself. Understand?" said Maria to her twin.

"Aye-aye…" Joe sighed.

With that, she turned heel and left.

The sheep at the door was now looking quite dejected. "She's still mad at me, isn't she?"

"Dude, what'd you expect? It's only been a month."

"Yeah, but...it still hurts she's pretending I don't exist anymore."

"Hmph. I'm more surprised she didn't cut you up and ship your meat to the Black Market," Joe said, folding his arms.

"That's a little harsh…don'tcha think?" said his teammate.

"Hey, you were the one that went on and slept with that rabbit girl. I'm just sayin'."

The dark-brown bighorn hung his head low in shame and embarrassment.

"Hmm…I wonder…" Joe twitched his ears as he was lost in thought.

"Um… Cap'n?"

"Hm…Oh, my bad! Practice. Right…"

Joe quickly stood up and then walked inside with his teammate.

Author's Note

Yeah, been a busy week… Anyway.

Thanks to everyone who's been following Robbie's story so far. Will make sure to keep going till the end! :)