So...after two times of telling you "it´ll come out soon", here goes chapter 18.
Big thanks to the boys from Discord for their feedback and motivation!
Hope you enjoy it a little.
Beastars – Into the spotlight
Chapter 18 – In the face
POV Legoshi
"Thanks for picking us up" she told him gladly, putting on her seatbelt after getting on the co-driver´s seat and closing the door behind her, "We owe you."
"Yeah, yeah…" he sighed, swiftly accelerating the car into the early-afternoon traffic, "…as if you didn´t owe me for yesterday already…"
I took a short look behind us and the train station was almost completely out of sight already. Everything happened so quickly all over sudden. I had enjoyed my time alone with her so much, and now I was just a few minutes away from getting back into my normal life. Just like all this never happened.
"Yeah…" she said, "…what happened to you yesterday? Did they really try to stop you?"
"Heh…" he grumbled, "…they didn´t just try to. They stopped me a whole mile before I even arrived at that stupid tower. And there were so many of them, I bet that guy never even wanted you to arrive there in the first place..."
"What really?" she asked, "What did they do?"
"They blocked the whole road with their cars and stopped me by the side of the road. Then they asked me where the Beastar-boy was…" he explained, "… …but I told them I had no idea what they were talking about."
"…well…" Skye sighed, "…Legoshi and I made it there, but it was clear they all had known we knew about the tracker by then…"
"Yeah…" he sighed with a little nod, "…I think the guys who stopped me had figured that out as well…"
He looked a little impatient as the lights in front of him just turned red before we got there and he had to slow down once again. He growled in slight annoyance.
"…anyway…" he waved it off then, "…they bored me for about half an hour, not letting me drive off…and then I called the cops on those dicks."
We nodded understandingly.
"…where have you guys been all this time?" he wanted to know then, as neither Skye nor I really wanted to get further into that topic right now, "…nobody was able to reach you…not even Ten…"
"They knocked us out with tranquilizers and then brought us to Port City…" Skye explained, "…that was some real bullshit, let me tell you!"
"Port City?!" he asked a little more loudly now, shaking his head in pure disbelief.
"…they held us prisoners and took most of our stuff. I guess they brought us so far away because that deer is really scared of us."
Boris now nodded understandingly. Then he pointed at his glove box for some reason.
Skye opened it and immediately recognized a few of the items sliding towards her. She found her wallet, her phone, her keychain and something that looked like a spring-loaded knife or something like that. It appeared my wallet and my keychain were in there as well and she handed it over to me right away.
"Oh nice!" she said with a nuance of content in her voice, " Where did you get that stuff from?
"It was in his car…" he said, pointing towards me with a gesture of his head, "… …Ten sent somebody to go and retrieve it from their garage."
"Oh, what a nice service!" Skye chuckled.
"Yeah, thanks for that…" I agreed.
That was followed by a long, kinda awkward silence now. I could tell that Boris had a lot of other questions on his mind that interested him by far more right now, like how Skye and I had spent the night or how we paid for the train-ride for example, but it seemed like he was either too scared by the answer or too professional to ask.
To fill the silence, I decided to ask him something that I was interested in: "Has Ten talked about anything else we should know about?"
"Not for now" he answered dryly, almost interrupted me while shaking his head, "…but you should probably keep your heads down for a little while."
I was beginning to think that I had a slight idea why he was so nervous and restless right now.
But before I could even get further into that with my thoughts, I already recognized the street we were in. It was not too far away from my flat and the Cherryton-Highschool anymore at this point, and I almost was a little sad to be back so soon already.
I wanted to spend more time with her. I wanted to be far away again, far away from school and my life as a Beastar.
But just a few hundred meters before we would have arrived by my place, Boris suddenly brought the car to a halt by the side of the road.
"Oh boy…" Skye chuckled now, stretching herself a little, before she then opened the co-driver´s door "…what a night! I´m up for a hot shower right now…"
She got out of the car and swiftly popped her head inside once more. "See ya later, boys!" she said with a calm little smirk, then she closed the door and walked right towards the entrance of the building next to the sidewalk.
I was a little bummed that she really just said goodbye like that after everything that had happened, but then I realized what it meant for me that she actually lived just a few minutes down the road from my apartment.
"Why has she never told me about that earlier?" I wondered. Then I remembered how it was between us before yesterday and it all made sense again, "…right…secret agent super spy…"
I was a little resigned at first as I watched her just leaving us alone like that, but then, just before she reached the door and Boris had shifted the car into drive once again, she quickly turned around and I believed she winked me with a little smile.
At first I wondered what that was about, then I finally understood: She thought the same as me but played it clever once again.
"What´s up with her?" Boris asked lowly, shaking her head a little, "…she´s never talked about stuff like that to us before, has she?"
He must have noticed how her behaviour had slightly changed since yesterday.
"I don't know…" I played clueless, "…but I´m surely up for some hot water as well. We had been walking for hours last night until we arrived in port city…"
"Is that what it took to make less of a machine out of her?" he chuckled dryly.
"Probably…" I sighed with a shrug off my shoulders.
We passed a few more buildings and had to wait at another set of red-lights, but then the building of my flat was in sight already.
"Thanks for the ride by the way" I told him, already reaching out for the door handle.
"Yeah, yeah…" he commented with a noticeable amount of sarcasm in his voice, "…got your license and your own car, and yet here I am chauffeuring your ass around once again."
"We´ve had a rough night behind us…" I told him with a little sigh, "…so I´m really glad I didn´t have to walk here too."
"Yeah, yeah…rough night…" he commented cynically, "…you fucked her last night, didn´t you?"
"So you aren´t actually that gullible, are you?" I thought to myself, and it was actually not that easy to hide a dominant little smirk right now.
I really wasn´t expecting him to confront me with this right now, but as I didn´t want to get her into trouble either, I had to deploy my acting really quick.
"Come on, Fluffy…" I told him with a little chuckle, "…you know she´s not that simple to get… …do you really believe that?"
I really tried not to over-exaggerate my chummy smile towards him, and it seemed like that was enough to convince him for now.
"Yeah…" he sighed, sounding like he actually knew what I meant, "…you´re right. I guess you wouldn´t be the type to do that anyway. …sorry."
He now turned the car around on the street and brought it to a halt right next to the door of my apartment.
Me saying that out loud had boosted his self-esteem quite noticeably as it seemed, and that really was all I wanted to reach. I didn´t need his grief as well right now.
I just nodded with a little smirk.
"Thanks again" I told him in all honestly as I opened the door and got out of his car, "See you later!"
"Yeah…" he sighed, still with a bit of a grumble in his voice, "…see ya later, punk."
I closed the door behind me with another little smirk and he drove off even before I had taken one single step.
"Does she know about this?" I asked myself in slight amusement, shaking my head a little as I watched the car disappear in the distance, "Will this be a problem?"
POV Skye
"Just what is wrong with you?"
I muttered lowly, looking down my body. Ever since last night, my body felt like it was on fire. There was this craving, this desire to get touched and to get used, and it messed with me so much I almost wasn´t able hide it.
It had plagued me for the entire train ride already, and as much as I didn´t want it to be true, it was that eighteen-year old Wolf-kid. He just wouldn't get out of my head, although it had just been ten minutes since I last saw him.
But It was not just about the sex, I was sure of that. I could ask anyone for that, probably even Boris, if it was like that, but I didn´t want just sex. I wanted him.
It was him alone who messed up the Shishigumi like that, he alone managed to save a rabbit from getting killed and eaten. It was him who had saved us from a night on the road yesterday. God he even had enough charge left in his phone for me to call Boris so he would pick us up from the train station. He turned that whole mess into something I actually kinda enjoyed, and even the sex was from another planet.
"Fuck! …You can´t be real right now!"
Tiredly shaking my head about myself, I tossed my phone and my wallet onto the drawer in my hallway, kicked my shoes into the corner and began undressing myself down to my bare fur. Then I went into the bathroom and turned on the water.
POV Juno
There still was no sign of him. I´ve visited the 701 boys already, and neither Collot, nor Miguno or Jack had heard anything from or seen him. He ignored my phone calls as well, but as got was called really often since he was a Beastar, he had his phone on silent most of the time anyway.
I was restless. I needed the relief since quite a few days already, and there still was no sign of him. I was so desperate for sex, I had almost considered joining Jack and Anita in his flat on my own last night.
As I wasn't sure what else to do with all that energy, and the weather was kinda nice today, I decided to go running around the school´s oval for a couple of rounds.
Although I wasn't doing this on a regular basis, this workout really helped me out a little right now. The warmth of the sun brightened my mood as well, and although it was becoming really exhausting after a little while, it made me feel really good for a moment.
A few minutes later, when I was already considering to slow down and take a little break, I suddenly noticed a tiger slowly walking along one of the tracks. He had earphones on when I jogged past him, but as I slowed down a little he quickly put them off. I gladly took that excuse to catch my breath again.
"Hey Juno…" he greeted me lowly but with a happy little smile. It seemed like he was really glad I didn´t just ignore him like many of the other students did right now.
"Hey…" I panted with a little smile, "…you´re…you´re barely limping anymore…"
"Not bad, right?" he asked with a proud little nod.
I nodded in agreement, walking besides him now, slowly catching my breath again.
"How about you?" he asked, "You doing good?"
"… …yeah…"
He just slowly raised an eyebrow now, not looking too convinced of that.
"So it really was that obvious?"
"…I…I just wished he would talk to me more…" I then told him, somehow feeling quite comfortable with that around him.
"What, Legoshi?"
I nodded slowly. "…he just left us midway through rehearsals yesterday and was gone for the entire night. Nobody knew where he went and he isn´t answering his phone either…"
"I guess he´s very busy since he became a Beastar…" he wondered.
"He´s like a robot! The last week was just a mix of learning, rehearsals and more learning…" I sighed, "…and then he didn´t even make it home to watch a movie last night."
"Hmm…" he said while thinking, "…have you tried asking him about sex?"
"Ha…" I chuckled, "…you bet I have! But it´s been over a week already…I´m beginning to think he lost every bit of interest in me now…"
That thing with the sex seemed to have been his best idea for my scenario as well, and that alone proved me right once again.
"…boy…" he sighed, "…that´s tough!"
I nodded slowly.
"What about you?" I then changed the topic for now, "…Legoshi mentioned you met someone new at the hospital?"
His smile now widened a little once again. "I have…" he affirmed, "…and I´ll finally see her again tonight."
"Oh that's nice…" I told him, "…like…like a date?"
"Yeah…" he affirmed, "…she´s working at the Christmas-market. She said it's a lot of fun and asked if I wanted to join her in her family´s candy-stand."
"That sounds really awesome" I told him in all honesty and with a little smile, "…I hope you two have a good time!"
"Thanks" he told me cheerfully, "…I hope the same for you when Legoface shows up again!"
I now remembered that silly dream I had last night. How imagined us having a family and kids one day.
"Could this ever be more than just a dream? …or should I accept it at this point and just bury all the hopes I had left for this?"
"I´m not quite sure Legoshi feels the same way about me…" I sighed lowly, "…I mean…wouldn´t he have shown it by now?"
That left him thinking for another moment. The smile on his face had sort of faded suddenly. It almost felt like he had known about this for quite a while already.
"Have I really been that blinded all this time?"
We had covered another full round of the oval in the meanwhile, but he wasn´t stopping although we just passed the exit once again.
"…well…" he sighed, "…Legoshi never was one for a lot of words. It was always his actions that brought him where he is now, wasn´t it?" he asked.
I thought about that for a moment, and I had to agree with him on that in the end. But the fact that I had to agree with him also proved my worst expectations even more, sadly.
"It has always been his actions…" I agreed, "…and it´s been those actions for our relationship I´ve been waiting for ever since."
"So…it´s just about the sex for him?"
"…well…" I sighed lowly, "…not even that, apparently."
He now just nodded slowly, looking a bit like he had experience with something like that already. Then he suddenly stopped in his walk and looked right at me.
"…I hate to tell you this…" he began lowly, "…but… …"
POV Legoshi
I tried to open the door as quietly as possible, but as soon as I set the first foot in the room, Jack already came sprinting towards me and then threw his arms around me stormily.
"Where have you been all night?" he asked loud- and a bit grumpily, "We were worried about you!"
I had anticipated something like this already, but I didn´t imagine it to be that bad.
"Yeah…" I sighed, scratching the back of my head, "…sorry."
"What happened?!"
"I…" I sighed, looking for a way to say it the least shocking, "…I was at this meeting…and it all went a bit out of control… …and then they shot me with a tranquilizer gun…"
"What?!" Jack yelled, almost sounding a little hysterical. Miguno got off his matrass and came a steps closer as well now.
With a small gesture of my hands I tried to calm them down a little, then I continued lowly: "…so when I woke up again yesterday evening, I was being held prisoner about five miles outside of port city…"
"Port City?!" Miguno asked.
"Yeah…" I affirmed with a calm little nod, "…I was tied back to back with Skye, and we just made it out of there because that gullible lion-kid fell for her charm and the lies we told him…"
"…wait…" Jack asked, "…you mean the white vixen from…"
I nodded.
"…I knew I´ve smelled that scent before…" Collot commented with a little chuckle.
"…so…you´ve spent the night in Port City?" Miguno wanted to know.
I nodded again. "We missed the last train home."
"But why haven't you answered your phone? Or called for help?" Jack asked, still shaking his head in total disbelief.
"Yeah…" I sighed, "…my battery was dead. Sorry about that…"
"…w-what?!"
I knew they tried to reach me, Juno alone had called me about nine times since last night. But the dead battery excuse kind of worked well in my favor here.
"…so you´ve spent the whole night in Port City?" Collot continued with the interrogation. They all still seemed pretty skeptical somehow. As they had already noticed her smell in my fur, although I had just taken another shower, I was pretty sure I knew what they all were thinking. I wouldn´t get out of this anyway.
"…yeah…" I sighed, "…we just had enough money for a little hotel room and the train-ride home…"
"Oh shit…" Jack muttered lowly.
"What?" I chuckled.
Miguno´s and Collot´s smirks widened a little as well now for some reason.
"…you´re a good actor, Legoshi…" Jack began, looking me right in the eyes, "…but you were never able to hide real happiness… …you really like that vixen, don't you?"
"Goddamn you, stupid tail!"
As it was clear that I couldn´t fool them here, and they wouldn't believe me anyways, I just went for it and hoped they would understand.
"I love her" I confessed lowly, "…she´s incredible."
Just like expected, that was followed by a big silence.
"…what?!" Miguno then asked in total shock.
"What about Juno?" Collot asked, equally surprised by this.
That really just left me shrugging my shoulders, sadly. "…she´s from the drama-club…and I like her as a friend…"
I was aware it must hurt hearing it like that, but I wasn´t even lying about it when I added: "…I enjoyed the time I´ve had with her…but I never really loved her."
That, like I expected, was followed by another big and heavy silence as well.
"Ouch…" Collot commented, putting one of his hands over his heart with a painful expression, "…someone is going to have a ruined Christmas this year…"
That on the other hand was something I hadn´t thought about at all. The Christmas holidays were about to begin next week, and I was probably just minutes away from totally crushing all that for her. I really wasn´t looking forward to what was about to come now.
"…so in that hotel-room…" Miguno picked up the earlier topic, "…did you really...?"
I just nodded a little once again.
Jack just continued to shake his head and then rested it against my stomach in noticeable resignation. I patted his head with one of my hands carefully, as I could understand how hearing that must have made him feel right now. I already knew he wouldn't like this, but I just couldn't change the truth.
"…so how was your night yesterday?" I asked him, failing hard to change the topic with that.
"It was nice…" he muttered lowly, "…but it would have been more fun if you guys had joined us…"
"I´m sorry Jack…" I told him lowly, hugging him back a little.
"What´s your plan with Juno now?" he wanted to know, "…It´ll probably crush her when she finds out…"
"I know…" I sighed, "…but I don't want to lie to her. She would find out soon anyway."
Just when I hoped they would be done with their questions for now, Miguno reminded me of something I hadn´t even considered before either.
"What about the performance?" he wanted to know, "…I mean…Kai did alright in that one scene yesterday, but he can´t possibly replace you for the entire thing…"
A noticeable sigh escaped my mouth as I heard that question, understanding his concerns. This was just getting more and more complicated.
"…you´re the one holding that club together, Legoshi…" he reminded me, "…and we can´t replace Juno either..."
"I´ll see how it goes…" I told him with another little sigh and a quick shrug of my shoulders. There was nothing more I could tell him right now. "…let´s just hope for the best."
POV Skye
It seemed like I had fallen asleep in the bathtub once again. That was one of those weaknesses I still hadn´t learned to get rid of.
The water was pretty cold in the meanwhile, but that wasn´t actually the reason I woke up. I believed I had heard the doorbell ringing.
"Who could this be now? Ten? Fluffy? …Legoshi?"
Just before I could ask myself that any further, my thoughts where interrupted by an appalling racket from outside my flat. At first it sounded like somebody had dropped a piece of furniture down the staircase or something, then I finally realized that somebody tried to smash down my door.
"Somebody must have followed Boris´ car!"
I immediately was on high alarm now. I got out of the bathtub as quickly as I was able to without slipping and hurting myself, then I swiftly grabbed myself the bathrobe from the hook on the bathroom door.
I quickly scanned the room for anything I could use as a weapon, but apart from a bunch of hygiene products there wasn´t a whole lot of options.
As I snappily opened the door of my bathroom, the two lions with the crowbars had already made it thought the main door of my flat and into my hallway. One of them already tried to take a swing at me, so I took a quick step back, once again trying hard not to slip on the wet bathroom floor, and his crowbar just missed my face by a couple of inches. He hit the doorframe instead and it left a sizable dent in the wood.
"Who invited you guys?" I asked them beneath my breath, as he slowly came walking towards me with a dirty grin.
"Oh we don't have to be asked twice to join a sexy woman in her bathroom" he commented with his stupid, ugly cat-face, "…but was that bathrobe really necessary?"
"Yeah?" I asked ironically, taking another very quick look behind me, "…I´d prefer if you keep your clothes on if I´m honest…"
He now slowly came closer towards me, cocking his crowbar in his hands with that stupid grin on his face, thinking like I was totally defenseless anyway, "…you have a pretty big mouth for your size, let me tell you-"
In that very moment I took the risk and quickly jumped onto the edge of my bathtub behind me. I luckily found grip on the slippery surface with my paw-pads, and even before I could get out of balance, I used my natural ability to jump, lunged forwards, did a really high front-flip and then slammed the base of my right foot right into his forehead. He hit the tiled bathroom floor really hard and I landed right on top of him with that.
It was not like I haven´t been doing something like that to an enemy bigger than me for the first time, but I could very well understand that the other jerk-off was rather scared of me as well now. I was surprised that the guy I just hit still was conscious however.
"…you were saying?" I asked him dryly, as the other coward of a lion now quickly let go of his crowbar and just pulled a gun on me like a little bitch.
"…ahh, fuck…" he groaned, "…what the fuck…ahh my fucking head…"
"…are you done playing with that vixen?" the guy with the gun now asked, "…we´re not here to mess about, remember? I told you she isn´t just some pretty doll…"
"Well you must be packing quite some balls pulling a gun on a girl, don't you?" I asked him coldly, staring him right in the eyes. This was not the first time somebody did this to me either, and I truly was getting a little tired of this bullshit in the meanwhile.
"Shut up, I wasn´t asking for clever-"
"-and she…" another really deep voice from outside the bathroom interrupted him, "…probably wasn´t asking to get her door smashed in by some Kitten being run by a red-deer who should still be in high school…"
A middle-aged Panda now stepped into the doorframe, pointing a crossbow right at the lion´s head with an audible rattle.
"Oh who the fuck are you now?!" the lion asked in noticeable frustration, dropping his pistol as the panda now pushed his weapon right at his head.
I immediately went to pick up the gun from the floor, grabbing it by it´s barrel instead of the handle. Then I got up, turned around my own axis to gain momentum and slammed the handle against his head as hard as possible, knocking him right out with that.
As the panda was aiming his crossbow at the other guy now, he didn´t even try to stand up or do anything stupid.
"…no matter who you are…" I told the black and white furred bear beneath my breath, "…I´m glad you´re here."
"The name is Gouhin" the old Panda said, picking up all the other weapons from the floor, "…I know Legoshi for a little while. Ten consulted me, and not a second too late I might add…"
I nodded slowly. "Thanks."
"You should get yourself dressed and ready to leave this place…" he explained, "…those guys are getting impatient slowly but surely."
POV Kai
I was just going through the hallway, coming from the gym-room on my way back to my dorm, when I met him going in the opposite direction as me, probably heading for the cafeteria.
"Legoshi" I said, quickly getting his attention and stopping him in his tracks.
"Oh…hey…" he greeted back, seemingly totally elsewhere with his mind but nevertheless stopping for a moment.
"Everything alright?" I asked, "…you were just…gone yesterday…"
"Oh…yeah…" he said with a little nod, "…everything is fine."
"Rehearsals where though without you…"
It appeared that he had noticed the nevertheless proud little smirk on my face I just wasn't able to hide.
"You had fun I assume?" he asked with an amused little chuckle, and I was just left shocked by that statement.
I almost wanted to just ask him if he wasn´t worried I might steal his role and ultimately his girl from him at this point, but then I stopped myself just in time, luckily.
"…y-yeah…was kinda nice…" I confessed, "…feeling like the star for once…"
"Thanks for helping out" he told me with a contented smirk, patting my shoulders shortly.
I just couldn´t figure this guy out. He treated me like he was just proud of me, but his slightly amused smirk also gave me the message of: "Nice try, little Mongoose."
This was eating me up on the inside. I wanted him to see something in me, but I also wanted him to confess that I was superior in this role.
Now it seemed even more like he wasn´t too bothered about me working with Juno like that, but I wanted him to say it himself, finally. I wanted him to confess that Juno wasn´t more than just status to him, and I wanted him to personally give me a chance to prove myself on stage.
But it seemed like he had other things on his mind right now, as he really looked like he wanted to get going again already.
I didn´t want to accept it like that once again though, so I desperately searched for something to keep up the conversation just a little longer.
"…hey…" I stopped him again, "…uhm…I…I didn´t mean to…"
"Don't worry about it…" he waved it off, still with that little smirk, "…I wouldn´t have picked you if I didn´t trust you."
Then he turned around and just went on his way again, "…and I´m sure Juno could very well defend herself if needed..."
I just couldn't help but stare after him totally dumbfounded. It seemed like I was just some average guy to him. It seemed like I was not even considered a threat.
He either just really tried to mess with me here and acted not to be bothered, or he really had something different on his mind and just didn't realize it. Whatever it was, I wouldn't have any mercy.
"You poor fool" I thought to myself, balling my fists in a mixture of anger and determination, "Just watch as I make her mine! Both Juno and the stage!"
POV Legoshi
I entered the cafeteria and took a look around the almost completely empty dining room. Quite a few students went home to their families this weekend as it seemed, but as I knew Juno didn´t, and she wasn´t in her dorm either, I figured she must be here to grab a bite to eat.
I figured right. She was sitting alone at the table we usually went to and stared onto her plate empty, not looking too excited about her weekend.
I was aware that she might be a little angry with me right now because I wasn't there for her all evening yesterday, but I figured that getting abducted should be reason enough to justify that.
When she first spotted me, she actually seemed quite happy for a moment, when I came closer though, that changed pretty quickly. She actually looked quite mad when I arrived at her table.
"Oh, look who´s back" she said dryly, "…had a good night out?"
I examined her shortly. She wore her red and white drama-club outfit right now, and as she only wore that when she did something sporty, I figured she already had done a bit of workout today.
"Hey Juno…" I greeted her lowly, looking at the floor in slight shame, "…sorry for leaving rehearsals like that yesterday."
"Oh, that´s fine…" she waved it off, still with that sarcasm in her voice, "Kai was a good choice…he at least looks at me while dancing…looking like he´s having fun hanging out with me…"
I raised my head a little so I was looking right into her eyes now. The way she was staring at me really frightened me for a second. I wasn´t quite sure what to think of that passive but quite aggressive accusation. I really had a hard time recognizing her right now.
"Was it normal in a relationship to say something like that without even listening to the other side of the story?"
I really asked myself why I really had tried to be serious with her all this time. It just felt like she was treating me like an object of Status rather than a partner at this point.
And I had the feeling Skye was right: I really did it just for the sake of convenience as well. And for the sex. I wasn't in love with Juno. I never was. It´s still her who wants that relationship, and I was tired of faking it any longer.
"…Kai seemed like he enjoyed himself …" I commented dryly, "…you should probably take it as a compliment."
"Are you freaking serious?!" she yelled now, causing a few of the other students to look in our direction, even from quite far away, "Is that a joke to you?! Premiere is next Thursday!"
I just nodded with another little sigh and a shrug of my shoulders. That stupid drama-club performance was the last thing I had on my mind right now. That topic really had wandered off into the background for me since yesterday. The whole script was really bad anyway. The only really good things about it where the music from Miguno´s band and the choreographies to it, the rest was just nonsense. They could have given my role to anyone and it would just have been fine in my opinion.
She shook her head in slight disbelief now, I just kept looking at her with an expression of complete indifference.
"…so where have you been all night?" she asked, trying to calm herself down a little.
Then she suddenly began sniffing my fur a little more closely. I had anticipated her to notice it right away, but I also had an explanation ready.
"I was kidnapped yesterday."
"Yeah, right…kidnapped…" she said coldly, "…is that why you smell like fox-bitch?"
Hearing her talk about Skye like that just hit me like a dagger to the chest. I knew Juno had a reason to be bad-tempered, but that was no reason to get insulting. She didn´t know her in the slightest. She´s never properly met her even. This was getting me so mad.
"Who is the real bitch, Juno? The girl who fucks me for status or the one who actually likes me for who I am? Did you even listen to me when I told you that I was freaking abducted?!"
I didn´t tell her that of course, but a little part of me really wished I did.
"…I was tied back to back with her for a few hours. I was hit with a tranquilizer-dart in a clan-meeting, got abducted and woke up five miles outside Port-City" I explained dryly, still preferring to stand next to her table rather than taking a seat, "…but thanks for your compassion."
"I tried calling you like ten times!" she yelled, now with a noticeably higher pitch in her voice, "What more can I do when nobody knows what´s up with you?!"
Just in time so it would get even more awkward, my phone, which I charged a bit in my flat earlier, began vibrating in my pocket now, and since it couldn't be Juno anyway I even felt like pulling it out and checking for who it was this time. I had the feeling this could be important, and indeed it was.
"Legoshi, do you know who Gouhin is?" Skye asked me, being as sharp as ever.
"Yeah…sure…" I replied, taking another quick look at Juno, who now looked even less contented about me.
"It´d be good if you come to his office as soon as possible. You know where it is?"
"Yeah…I´ve been there… …but right now is not a good time."
"It´s really urgent, Legoshi. The Shishigumi are making pressure now… …Gouhin just saved me from getting abducted once again!"
A short shiver ran down my spine. This indeed was a lot more important than this conversation with Juno right now.
"Uhm…" I sighed, looking at the red furred wolf girl once again shortly, "…okay, that´s not good…"
"Try to be there as soon as possible."
"…yeah…" I sighed, "…okay…I´m on my way. See you soon."
And with that she had already ended the call and I put my phone into my pocket as well.
"So who was that now?" Juno asked cynically, "Some important Beastars-Business? Somebody wanting to abduct you again?"
It now really made me a little sad she thought like that.
"She doesn't even believe me that I got abducted. She doesn´t care about me or my problems. She never did. She just wants me to be her boyfriend so we look good together!"
"The fox-bitch" I now answered her coldly, looking her right in the eyes again, "…and she probably just saved my life once again."
Then I just turned around and left her where she was.
POV Kai
Just a few minutes earlier I met him in the hallway when he was going towards the Cafeteria, now I met him again when I was going there myself and he was coming from it again. I had been in my dorm to just quickly change from my musky-smelling workout clothes into something more comfortable, and now headed for a little snack in the cafeteria myself.
Legoshi was heading in the opposite direction yet once again, and this time it was actually him who stopped me for moment.
"You should probably read through my parts in the script as well once or twice…" he just said dryly.
"Uh…what?!" I asked back in slight confusion, but instead of answering he just raised his eyebrows for a moment and went on his way again without another word. I looked after him for a moment, then he was out of sight already and just had left me alone with that information.
Not knowing what to do with that, I went back on my way into the Cafeteria.
At first I had wondered a little why he was coming back alone so quickly, not having any food to go with him, but when I went into the cafeteria it suddenly made more sense: Juno was here, sitting alone at one of the tables, and just from the first look she seemed to be in an equally cold mood as her boyfriend right now.
Others might have called me really cruel, but on the inside I was so unbelievably happy about this already. This was going into the right direction already.
"I was right all along! Legoshi isn´t in love with her, and she finally noticed it!"
This filled me with so much energy and motivation right now, I almost caught myself walking straight up to her and ask if "everything was alright".
But I just stopped myself in time. I didn´t want to be the desperate, clingy friend from her club in the most inappropriate moment possible. And I would have to explain where I knew that from in the first place, which wasn´t helping that case either.
So I went for the food pick-up first of all. I had a bit of an appetite after all.
POV Jack
Legoshi came back barely twenty minutes after he had left to find Juno, and his mood shocked all of us even a little more than earlier already.
"Hey Legoshi…" Anita greeted him, who had joined us here just a few minutes ago.
She wanted to go to the Christmas-market with me this afternoon, and she was probably hoping for Legoshi and Juno to join us this time as well. She was just as cheerful as ever, kneeling on top of me playfully as I was laying on my back on my matrass.
But Legoshi just nodded towards us shortly. He didn't say a single word. Without further ado, he just grabbed all his stuff, put it into his backpack and went on his way again. We all just watched him as he opened the door, nodded towards us once again and then just left us here.
"…what´s gotten into him?" Anita asked in slight puzzlement, "…that´s not typical for him, is it?"
"This can´t be good…" I sighed lowly, shaking my head a little.
"You think he´s in trouble with those Beastars people?"
"I think it´s more about Juno…" I confessed lowly, knowing full well she wouldn´t take that too easy either.
"Oh no…" she said, putting her hands in front of her mouth, "…did she break up with him?"
"Yeah, probably…" I sighed lowly, really hesitating with that last bit of a moment, "…but Legoshi isn´t all that innocent about it either."
"What?!"
Collot and Miguno just nodded a little as she looked around the room for somebody to confirm what I said. Neither of us was really happy about this.
"What happened?" she demanded to know, looking at the three of us one after another, "…you guys know more than I, don't you? Please guys…spill the beans already!"
POV Juno
"Hey…" I stopped him quickly, as I noticed him walking past me with a tray of food in his hands.
He immediately noticed and came a step closer with a happy little smile.
"Hey!" he greeted, "What´s up?"
"Not much…" I said, "…what´s up with you?"
"…I just met a very strange tempered Legoshi in the Hallway" he told me after a little bit of hesitation, "…is there something we should worry about?"
I found myself hesitating to answer that. "…let´s just say he´s not always the hero you all see in him as…"
"…w-what happened? Something about the drama-club?" he wanted to know.
That actually got me thinking right now. I hadn´t even thought about that before: I had intimate scenes with Legoshi in this performance as well. And as he had one of the lead roles once again, those were really important.
I hated this so much right now. As much as I would want to just kick him off the team for all that bullshit, I probably just couldn't. He still pretty much ran the club, he still was the one actor everybody wanted to see on stage, and of course, he had the most important role once again.
"Fuck that sucks so much!"
I drifted deeper into my thoughts: The only possibility for me not to have to do this with him would be quitting myself, but then everybody would hate me instead of him.
"Fuck you, Legoshi! You stupid fucking moron! Just why are you like this?!"
"…everything alright, Juno?" Kai asked, still standing beside my table with his tray in his hands. I just realized that I hadn´t answered him for quite a long moment, and clenching my fists in silent rage probably raised some questions either.
"…yeah…" I sighed, "…it´s just…complicated…"
"Complicated…how?" he asked, still rather patiently for his usually rather unrelaxed personality.
"…I…I don't really want to see him right now…" I told him the truth quite plainly, "…but as our premiere is next Thursday already…"
"What…why… …what happened?" he asked, shaking his head in visible confusion.
"…he fucked some fox-slut last night and tried to make me believe he got abducted by some clan people or some shit…" I said coldly.
"What?!" he asked in slight shock of hearing it, "…are you sure?"
I nodded with a serious expression. "The entire room smelled like her when he was here."
"Wow…" he chuckled lowly, shaking his head a little, "…just what is up with this guy?"
"I should have known it from the beginning…"
At first it was pretty obvious he acted like that because he liked me, but then he surprised me a little: "You mean after that thing with Bill´s Girlfriend?"
I nodded slowly. "…he just isn´t the gentleman everybody thinks he is. In reality he´s just a selfish asshole."
"…wow…" he repeated, looking down onto his tray for a moment.
"He is a good actor…but that´s really all he is…" I gave way to my rage, and now I just noticed how bitter my voice really sounded right now.
Kai just stood there for another moment.
"I…I think I need to tell you something…" he suddenly said, looking around the room quickly.
I nodded and he took a seat on the other side of the table now.
"…when I met him in the hallway just now…" he said lowly, "…he told me I should better learn his parts of the script as well…"
"What, really?" I asked in surprise. I actually was a little shocked that he apparently thought the very same thing, "…he wants to quit?!"
The mongoose shrugged his shoulders shortly. "He really made it look like it´s because of you…that´s why I thought you might want to know…"
"Oh that coward!" I cursed lowly, clenching my fists yet once again, "…how dare he make me look like the bad guy now!"
"…well…" he sighed, still rather focusing on me than on his meal, "…he still is everyone´s hero after all…"
"Yeah, yeah…our big savior…" I mumbled sarcastically.
"I don't really know what the hype is about either…" he agreed with a little sigh, "…I think he´s not as great of a guy as everybody sees him as."
"Okay, this is getting a bit too much now, Kai."
"…well…one thing is for sure…" I sighed, "…he is a talented actor. You can never tell whether he´s real or not…"
He nodded silently. Of course he nodded. Him wanting to "be here for me" right now was just as obvious as if he would have written the word "SIMP" on his forehead.
"Stop trying so hard you freaking looser!" I thought to myself. Then I tried to calm myself down a little once again, but It wasn't that easy right now, sadly, "…shit, why am I getting so aggressive because of everything right now? It´s not his fault my relationship wasn´t working out for me the way I wanted it to."
I knew it was a little rude now that he just had taken a seat, but I just couldn't stand talking to him any longer right now.
"I´m sorry…" I told him with a forced but noticeably tired little smile, "…I need some time alone right now."
"…uh…yeah…sure!" he said behind me, seemingly a little hectic now after all though, "…so…about the script?"
I pretended like I didn't hear that very desperate question and just kept on walking away from the dumb, but right now somehow alarmingly handsome looking mongoose.
The thoughts I had on my mind about him right now were really cruel though, I just couldn't help myself.
"Go learn your own freaking script. I want to deliver a good show. Stop acting like you´re in any reach of him."
POV Skye
"So…who have you been trained by?" Gouhin asked curiously, as we were still waiting for Legoshi to join us. He had a tray with some cups and a kettle of tea with him as he joined me in his living room again, took a seat and immediately began filling two of the cups with the hot liquid.
"I was an orphan in a shaolin temple…" I told him, helping myself to one of the cups as he offered me to do so.
He nodded understandingly, putting the kettle back down onto his little couch table and then helping himself to a cup as well.
"…but that is not the only reason Ten wanted you to work for her, isn´t it?"
I took my time taking another sip of tea before answering that question. I knew he would be asking questions like that at some point.
"I guess it´s one of them…" I explained, "…but it´s not the most important one…"
"It´s also something personal for you, isn´t it?" he asked.
About that question I was a little surprised however, and I wasn´t afraid of showing that with my expression.
"…Ten mentioned the fight in the Shishigumi meeting-room yesterday…" he explained, "…you knocked out two lions in about ten seconds."
I nodded with a little sigh, as I knew that I couldn't deny any of that to him. It was clear he had been around in this business for quite a while.
"…that´s some pretty good tea?" I told him with a friendly smile, "…did you brew it yourself?"
He looked at me a little closer for a moment, obviously having noticed that I didn´t want to get further into that topic, but then he let me have it and nodded a little, "…I cooked it with fresh bamboo-grass. That store bought crap doesn't taste anything like the real thing."
"I see…" I said, taking another sip. It really tasted good, I didn´t lie about that, but I didn´t want to get back to that other topic for now either.
Luckily, Gouhin was either intelligent or gentleman enough to accept that. Probably both of those things.
I just leaned back on the couch and relaxed for a minute, taking a sip of tea from time to time.
Then the doorbell rang, quickly and quite a few times in a row.
Gouhin slowly got up and went into the little hallway, opening the door for the person waiting outside. When he came back just a moment later, he had a tall and slightly distressed wolf following him.
"So what is this about?" Legoshi asked, sounding a little impatiently for some reason.
"Why don't you come in first?" Gouhin chuckled calmly, pointing at the chair besides me, "…cup of tea?"
"No, thank you…" he said dryly, still looking like he really didn´t want to be here right now.
He looked at me with a big question-mark on his face, seemingly really desperate to finally get to know what was going on. Gouhin calmly took a seat once again and I began explaining.
"My very relaxing bath has been interrupted by two rather cowardly acting Shishigumi-Members… …and this friendly doctor here saved me from them…" I explained, "…I think you and Gouhin are acquainted?"
The wolf just nodded a little, greeting the Panda with a short look.
"I was the guy trying to stop him from raiding the Shishigumi for the first time…" Gouhin chuckled, "…but he taught me a real lesson when he just went in there anyway and really managed to save that Bunny girl."
Hearing that made him settle down a little, finally. He seemed to have realized that we were save and sound here for now.
"You´re not just a Beastar because you´re a good actor, Legoshi" I told him once again, "…and I´m not sure we can keep you out of that business for very much longer."
"…what business?"
"The business of taking a stand on the market and keeping it upright" I explained it as plainly as possible, "…you don't fight back and gain respect, you´re done. Ten isn´t just some mean vixen who´s watching over and providing luxury for you. Boris and I aren´t just personal assistants or chauffeurs either, I hope you´ve noticed that. …Ten needs you on her side for more than just your image as a Beastar…"
He now began nodding slowly.
"…I…I was wondering about all that already…" he confessed, "…but so far, it seemed nobody had the need to tell me more about it..."
"…so…your granddad and Yahya didn´t want to tell you about it when you just were about to get elected?" I asked with a little smirk.
"About…what?"
I just raised an eyebrow now.
"…well, he said something about things that couldn´t be handled just with words…"
The both of us, Gouhin and I, nodded to that in agreement.
Legoshi just looked even more puzzled now. At least he tried to act puzzled, but I was pretty sure he knew what we meant and just didn´t want it to be true.
"Oh don't act like you don't know what we mean now…" Gouhin grunted, "…you´re the one who ran into that Shishigumi-tower and punched yourself all the way to the top! You knew it from the first moment! …and you already gained your respect that way…"
The wolf just nodded a little once again, keeping his gaze at the floor though. He slowly but surely began to understand that he couldn't run away from it for very much longer.
"…so…what do you propose?" the wolf asked after another moment of silence.
"Physical training" Gouhin explained in two words.
"Physical training?" he asked in confusion, "…what do I need that for?"
"In case you should face some trained fighters bigger and stronger than you for example…" he explained.
"I…haven´t met any of them so far."
"Trust me, kid, you will. You may also will have to face enemy´s smaller than you, but who´d still be able to knock you out in a couple of seconds."
He looked even more confused about that now.
"Her for example…" Gouhin added, pointing at me with one of his hands now.
I wasn´t able to hide an amused little smile at the visible confusion that was written all over his face. It surely made sense from his point of view, considering how he had dominated me in bed last night, but Gouhin wasn´t actually lying about that.
To prove his point, I took a quick look around the room, put down my cup of tea slowly and then stood up from the couch.
POV Legoshi
"Get down!" she told me unexpected- and really loudly, as she suddenly turned around, jumped onto the couch faster than I could look, did a really high leap backwards, spinning around her own axis and right towards me. Then she was out of my sight all over sudden. She grabbed me by my shoulders while flying over my head and pulled me with her with so much force that she immediately swiped me off my feet with that. I now spun around for half a turn myself while falling and then just crashed face-down onto Gouhin´s wooden floor.
She landed on top of me and pinned down my arms in a really painful way and made me completely unable to move therefore. For a moment, my jaw hurt really badly and I just saw stars before my eyes.
"I told you to get down…" she chuckled in amusement, "…you need to sharpen your reflexes."
I expected a lot from her, but I never thought she would be able to do something like that to me. I was just as fascinated as I was shocked by that very impressive presentation of her abilities.
"Ouch…" I muttered lowly.
Gouhin just chuckled about it as well, sipping from his weird, bitter-tasting bamboo tea.
Skye now finally got off of me and elegantly took a seat on her spot on the couch once again, leaving me to lay there on the floor slightly ashamed.
I slowly and under a bit of pain got up onto my feet again, and she just kept on smirking at me contentedly. She still just looked so hot and desirable with her innocent little smirk though. I just couldn´t be mad at her.
"Show off…" I said lowly, rubbing my hurting arm a little.
Now I felt like taking a seat on the armchair after all.
Her smile now widened a little, and that alone would have been reason enough for me to let her beat me up like that three more times in a row. Seeing her smile gave me back more energy and willpower than anything else I could think of. Nothing else was important when she smiled at me.
"See, kid…" Gouhin commented with a little wink towards me, "…you don't work for Ten when just looking good is all you´re capable of…"
Skye took another sip of her bamboo tea and just smiled a little about that compliment, I only nodded slowly.
"…so why are we here exactly?" I got back to my earlier question.
"Something weird is happening with the Shishigumi right now…" Gouhin took the word again, "…their appearance on the black market has dramatically decreased in the last few days…" he explained, "…but the same goes for the Inarigumi as well. They´ve been really quiet from what I hear."
I now took another look at Skye again.
"…Ten was hoping for some kind of Truce deal…" she mentioned again, "…and she probably got that because of what happened yesterday. But I´m not sure if that´s gonna last very long."
"The Shishigumi are preparing for something…" Gouhin shared his thoughts, "…and I highly suggest to try and contact them before they do."
"What about Rokka?" it suddenly came to my mind, "…you think he prattled anything?"
"Even if…" the white furred vixen waved it off, "…he was good for helping us escape. He´s not gonna be any help for anything else."
"Who…are you talking about?" Gouhin wanted to know.
"He´s a teenage lion, apparently the son of the Shishigumi´s former leader…" Skye explained to him, "…and yesterday he learned that it wasn´t Legoshi who actually killed his father. …he released us for our promise to help him get revenge on the red-deer who´s leading them now."
The panda nodded understandingly, taking another sip of his tea.
"What kind of revenge are we talking about?" he then asked skeptically.
"…he was pretty angry…" Skye commented dryly, "…it didn´t seem like he was joking about that…"
I found myself nodding to that. Rokka really looked like he personally wanted to slit Louis´ throat if he would get the chance to.
"This…" Gouhin began thinking out loudly, folding his hands before his mouth,"…could become a problem."
"He is pretty gullible…" Skye explained, waving it off, "…but I don't think he´s stupid enough to try and attack him on his own."
That made Gouhin chuckle a little bit for some reason. Then he just turned towards me again and his smile widened a little more. "…oh I do know someone who went to attack the Shishigumi all on his own."
"Can´t argue with that…" Skye agreed now, but then her ironic smile faded pretty quickly and she added with a more serious expression: "…but Haru is still alive because of that."
At first I was hoping she wouldn't mention it again, but then I noticed that she didn´t just shut herself up with saying it. Gouhin now just nodded quietly and with a respectful little smirk towards me.
"…but we don't really want to kill Louis, do we?" I asked.
"I have no problem with the deer…" Skye shared her view, "…I´ve seen worse bastards than him. …but I can´t guarantee for anything if those stupid lions try to mess with us again. I´ll blow up that entire freaking tower if necessary."
The both of us, Gouhin and I, just stared at her in surprise about that sudden outburst.
That tone in her voice shook my mood like an earthquake. I could literally feel the rage and the pain inside her, and I could tell how hard she was trying to hide it from us.
Now I just realized for how long she must have been doing that already and how exhausting that must be to keep up.
"The Shishigumi have taken quite a lot of damage already…" Gouhin explained after a short moment of silence, "…they have lost more than half of their men already. They´re frustrated, they´re confused, they´re cautious…attacking them right now could be really dangerous. Those triggers of their guns have never been easier to pull…"
Skye nodded to all those words slowly.
"…the only thing we can do right now is stay patient and prepare for-"
In that very moment he got interrupted by the sound of a ringing telephone in his hallway. He lost track of what he wanted to say and took a quick look around the room, then he stood up quickly. "…sorry…" he apologized, "…I need to take this."
And with that he went into the hallway and disappeared out of our sight for a moment.
Skye took a really deep breath and closed her eyes for a moment. I could tell how exhausted she was, and I could very well understand her. I was tired too.
Trying to lift her spirits a little, because I really needed to see her beautiful smile once again, I rubbed my still slightly hurting jaw with my hands, waiting for her to open her eyes again.
When she did, she tried looking as innocent as possible with an ironic little smirk. I just raised an eyebrow and her smirk went a little wider as well.
I just couldn´t withstand it, she was so stunning.
"Is that why Boris is so scared of you?" I asked with a little smirk myself now.
"Scared?" she chuckled.
"…fascinated…"
She now nodded understandingly. "…he has tried it a couple of times already…" she explained, "…but he´s quite a simpleton in the end… …and his reflexes are even slower than yours…"
"Yeah, yeah…" I sighed, and then a question came into my head that I actually had earlier already, "…but for real, have you ever considered it?"
She silently shook her head about that, "…Ten has totally brain-washed him. He´s completely owned by her, and he would give his life to protect her for whatever reason. And just for that alone I could never take him seriously."
POV Boris
"Port City?" she asked, actually sounding a little surprised by that as well, "…really?"
I just shrugged my shoulders with a little nod.
"…that deer-boy really is scared…" she concluded contentedly.
"He should be…" I growled lowly, "…because I´m really sick of this bullshit as well in the meanwhile. What is that guy even doing with that bunch of idiots?"
"Patience, Fluffy…" she chuckled, "…we almost have that wolf where we need him. Skye knows what she´s doing..."
"Are you sure about that?" I asked her slightly skeptically, "…because she behaved quite oddly when I picked them up from the train-station earlier…"
She chuckled a little about this. "It´s probably part of her acting…" she waved it off, "…she usually takes her job very seriously."
I tilted my head a little bit nevertheless, "…what about yesterday, when she knocked down those two lions all by herself?"
She now took a closer look at me, clearly wondering where I knew that from.
"Who told you about that, Fluffy?" she asked me in her straight-forward style now.
"One of the Shishigumi-guards told it to me sarcastically when I retrieved Legoshi´s car last night…" I told her, "…he sounded really pissed about it."
She nodded slowly. "I bet they´re getting frustrated slowly but surely. They would have gladly eaten that deer before he became their leader…"
"Why haven't they done it yet?"
"Honor. …it would be a great shame for their ancestors if they just killed the man who killed their boss and rightfully became their new boss that way."
"Why don't they just make it look like an accident?"
"He´s cautious…" she said, seemingly a little impatient in the meanwhile, "…very cautious."
I nodded slowly, not still not being entirely satisfied with that answer though.
"Why don't we help them?" I asked plainly, as that question bugged me for quite a while already.
"Because I don't think that deer is our enemy…" she sighed, now finally letting me in on her plan, "…I think he´s playing his own game here."
"…you mean he wants to bring the Shishigumi to the ground?"
Her mysterious smirk now just widened a little bit.
"…so we just…wait?"
"For now…" she affirmed with a nod, "…first of all we need Legoshi on our side and fully convinced of it. We´ve invested a lot of time and money into this. The Shishigumi seem really passive whenever Legoshi is involved, and we need that. But for now it´s just up to Skye to work her magic…" she announced, standing up from her desk now to bring my out of her office.
I didn´t believe a single word of that. I sighed a little once again, and I actually wanted her to notice it. Although I was pretty sure she really wanted me out of her office at this point, she just raised an eyebrow once again.
"I think she wants to protect the kid…" I told her dryly, "…I think this goes beyond her tasks…"
That just made her chuckle a little. "Keep an eye on her for me, darling…" she said with her mysterious, kinda hot little smirk she sometimes did, "…but please don't get in her way…would you be so kind?"
"Yes mam…" I sighed, opening the door to leave her office, "…as you wish."
POV Juno
I was just wandering around in the hallways without a real goal in mind. My mood was horrible. I didn´t want to go back to my dorms, I wasn´t motivated for learning, I didn´t know what to do with myself.
Now with having Legoshi removed from my weekend-planning, there was nothing else left to do all over sudden. No Christmas-market, no movie night, no relaxed evening in the bathtub.
I wasn´t even in the mood to talk to Anita right now. She would just be asking questions as well, and I didn´t want to answer those.
"That stupid white-furred bitch! Why does she have to ruin my Christmas like that?!"
I sprinted up the stairs to the next floor, just to burn up some more of that frustrated, rage-loaded energy I kept bottling up. I took two steps at once almost all the way up to the next level, but then it suddenly got really exhausting, and as I slowed down a little, one of my feet didn´t quite make it over the last stair step by one or two inches. Just as it always was with my luck, I just missed the stair railing with my hand and couldn't even slow my fall before I crashed on to the floor quite uncomfortably.
This really gave me the rest for today. It didn´t do any serious damage, but it hurt and made me feel really weak all over sudden. Weak, useless and unloved.
I didn´t even see a point in getting up once again, it wouldn't change anything anyway.
I turned myself onto my back, stared at the ceiling and just kept laying there for a while.
Why should I bother getting back up? Nothing made sense anymore anyway.
I would have kept laying here even longer, but then I suddenly heard a door opening not too far away from me now. I turned myself so I could see where the daylight came from all over sudden and noticed the silhouette of a small creature in the doorframe.
"Are you…are you okay?" her sweet and innocent voice asked me, coming a few steps closer now.
I wiped my eyes once again quickly, then I recognized the bunny girl.
At first I thought she really was the last person in the world I wanted to see right now, but then I suddenly realized that she wasn´t even an issue for me anymore. She had lost the battle of love with Legoshi just as badly as I had, so there was nothing more for us to fight about really.
"Uhm…yeah…" I said lowly, now trying to get up from the floor after all, "…I…I thought I was all the way up the stairs already…but there still was one more step…"
She just kept on examining me closely, then she shook her head a little bit. "You don't look like you´re fine…"
I looked at her shortly, then my view went back down to the floor once again.
"…honestly…" she said carefully, "…I´m worried about him. The fame is changing him…"
"W-what?" I asked.
She now looked up at me and gave me a warm little smile.
"…something happened between you two, hasn´t it?" she asked.
It seemed to be too obvious. Lying about that seemed pretty pointless, she knew it anyway.
But she didn´t say it with any grief or joy in her voice, it just seemed like she talked from experience.
I nodded slowly.
"You wanna talk about it, Juno?" she offered, and I wasn´t even that turned off by that idea right now.
"…y-yeah…I…I mean, if I don't interrupt anything…"
She just shook her head with a little smile and waved me to follow her.
"Why don't you join me in the garden…" she offered, "…I can make us a cup of tea if you like…"
POV Legoshi
"You should try not to get noticed around here…" Gouhin told us when we left, "…the Black Market is just around the corner…"
We both nodded quickly.
"…keep your heads down for now…" he suggested, taking a look to his left and right in the dark alley, "…I´d bring you home, but I don't have a car…"
"I parked right in the next street…" I waved it off, "…thanks Gouhin."
"See you tomorrow…" he said with a little nod, then he closed the door behind us.
"Would you…uhm…" she chuckled, "…would you give me a ride for once?"
I nodded with a little smile, taking the lead towards where I parked my car.
I had actually had hoped she would ask me about that. That was the only reason why I came with the car in the first place. I wanted to be alone with her, I didn´t care about anything else.
She was just like a drug to me. As soon as it was just the two of us, my mood was catapulted to the sky once again.
The walk towards the car felt not even half as long as when I came here an hour ago. Faster than I was able to comprehend, I was sitting on my driver´s seat once again and she right next to me.
"So…" she began, as I just had started the engine and checked my front and back, "…they knocked down my door earlier… …and it´ll probably take a while until they fix it…"
Hearing that just lifted my spirits even more. I was sure she had a good reason for telling me that.
I just looked over towards her with a little smirk, but I didn´t reply anything for now because I wanted her to ask about it.
"… …you were good at finding a solution for that yesterday…" she remarked, trying to look as innocent as possible.
"Hmm…" I said with a little smirk, "…I could take a look under one of my shoes again…you know…maybe it´ll be enough for a cheap hotel…"
"What about your flat?" she asked with a little grin, "…you got a couch I could crash on, right?"
Although there was nothing in the world I wanted more than that, I had to keep up that game just a little longer.
"…well, yeah…" I said, slowing down the car to a halt as the lights had just turned red in front of us, "…but after you smashed my face into the floor like that earlier, I´m not sure I-"
"That was just for leaving me to wait in front of your door like that yesterday…" she explained with a big grin, "…you don't leave a girl to wait in the cold while you take a shower."
She actually did have a valid point there, I had totally forgotten about that. But I also had a reason for that, as I didn´t want to disturb Jack and Anita too much yesterday.
"…I´m very sorry for leaving you outside…" I confessed with a semi-ironic little smirk, "…it won´t happen again."
"Heh…" she now chuckled in amusement, "…I can´t promise you that I won´t kick you down again though. Training starts tomorrow night, you´ve heard the nice old panda…"
"Fair enough…" I sighed.
"So?" she wanted to know, referring to the earlier topic.
"…I think I can clear a spot on the couch for you…" I told her with a little smirk, rubbing my still slightly sore jaw with one of my hands symbolically, "…if you promise to be nice to me today."
POV Haru
"…so you broke up with him?" I asked in slight surprise, and she didn´t stop nodding to that question either.
"He screwed some other girl last night…" she said with a little sigh.
"Wait, really?" I asked. This was just getting more and more unbelievable, "Legoshi?!"
She still nodded.
"…who?"
"I don't know…some fox-chick he´d gotten to know at a Beastars-meeting…"
"You´re not talking about a white-furred vixen by any chance, are you?"
She surprised me even more when she still kept on nodding now.
"Oh…" I said lowly.
"You know her?" she asked in slight surprise.
Now I was the one who nodded.
"She had…sort of abducted me a few weeks ago…"
"What?!"
"It was about Legoshi. I had met him at the fountain outside the theatre hall in the middle of the night just by chance and we talked a little bit. She thought he had told me about some intel from his Beastars-stuff or something like that, that´s why she interrogated me. …but she was really friendly to me over all. She believed me when I told her that I didn´t know anything and even brought me back to the school afterwards."
I noticed how her entire body was tensing up while listening. She really hated that woman with every fiber of her body.
"…you sure they really did anything yesterday though?" I wanted to know, "…I mean…he didn´t want to do it with me back then either…you know…because he was scared of hurting me…"
She now examined me once again, then she shook her head distinctively. "He smelled like her like she was standing right next to him."
I nodded understandingly.
"Just what is wrong about me?" she asked lowly, almost on the verge of tears again, "…he never really loved me! He even told me that once… …but I just didn´t want it to be true…"
"Honestly…" I said, "…you really looked like you would have done anything for him."
She wasn't even trying to deny that as she just nodded once again slowly.
"I would have done anything…" she confessed, "…I even pictured my future with him already. I dream about it almost every night!"
I nodded understandingly.
"…well, we´re still in high school after all…" I sighed, "…I think the chances of finding the love of your life here never are that high to begin with…"
She nodded, still looking at the floor with a sad expression though.
Trying to lift her mood a little bit, I changed the topic now. "…how was the sex with him by the way?" I asked quite plainly, "…I think he was a virgin before, wasn´t he?"
"…it was…" she said lowly, looking at the floor again, "…it was awesome."
I had expected a lot of thing as an answer to that question, but not that. I always imagined Legoshi would never get rid of that nervousness and holding back-attitude when it comes to that.
"…he is such a beast…but also gentle and caring and…and he listened! …he…" she said, now almost breaking out into tears again as it sounded like. Then she suddenly slammed her fist onto her own thigh in rage, "…just why must this happen to me?!"
So I had reached exactly the opposite what I intended to with that question.
"Honey…" I tried to calm her now with a little smile, putting a hand onto one of her thigs, "…let´s not cry about stupid boys, okay? He´ll find out himself how much of an idiot he is. Just try not to think of him too much and get yourself some distraction…"
"D-distraction?" she wept lowly.
"…you don't have to fall head over heels for somebody to have a bit of fun…just find someone else who has a dick in their pants… "
She seemed kinda surprised by that maybe a little crude but not even ironic suggestion of mine.
"…but…who?" she asked, lifting a head a little now.
"Come on…" I told her, "…as if that would be a big problem for you."
She at least raised her head a little about that compliment.
"…nobody else in the drama-club you have a good connection too?" I asked.
She took a short moment to think about that suggestion.
"…well, most of them are already taken I believe…" she said, and I sort of expected that already. Actors didn't have it hard to get a girlfriend usually.
"…well there is this mongoose…" she said, already shaking her head a little bit though, "…his name is Kai…and he helped me with the choreography after Legoshi had left us yesterday…"
"Oh…" I chuckled with a little nod, "…I think I know him!"
"You do?" she asked.
"Well…I´ve seen him on stage in the Volpone-play…" I explained, "…but he also came here to pick up flowers for the drama-club once…"
She nodded understandingly and with a tiny little smirk now. It seemed like she remembered that as well.
"So…?" I asked, carefully nudging her side with a little smile.
"Nah, I don't know… " she said with a little chuckle, "…Kai is a selfish dumbass."
That dry comment about him made actually made me laugh a little. I knew where she was coming from there, I didn´t really enjoy his company either when he came into the garden to pick up the flowers for Romeo and Juliet.
She wasn't able to hide a little smile either at this point, and that was all that I was trying to accomplish right now.
"Well you don't have to start a family with him…" I told her, shrugging my shoulders with an –not even that innocent- little grin, "…just saying…"
"Yeah…" she sighed with a little smile now, "…I guess you´re right."
"…and even if he´s a total dumbass…" I said, nudging her sides yet once more with a chummy smirk, "…at least he has a penis…"
BAM! Ended a chapter with the word penis. (…yeah, I´m really proud of myself ^^)
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~furr