Hey guys, what´s going on? I know the waits are still long for a new chapter to come out, but I finally got it done.
So here it is. Chapter 22.
Big thanks to RedliteAlexi for the help!
Have fun!
Beastars – Into the spotlight
Chapter 22 – Mistakes and consequences
POV Legoshi
This had been inevitable all along. It was Wednesday and we had our first drama-club meeting after the winter break.
Nobody knew anything about the new piece yet, nobody knew who would get to be on stage and nobody wanted to talk about it in advance either. We all just sat there in a circle in the middle of the rehearsal hall and waited for Sanu to come out of his office.
This already took way longer than it normally did. Something seemed to keep the pelican from joining us, and the silence was getting more and more uncomfortable.
Most of the drama-club members were still taking their distance from me as it seemed like, so the only one sitting near me was Aoba right now. And Kai for that matter, who wasn´t sitting too far away from me either. Juno was on the very other side of the room, sitting very far outside the circle, seemingly not wanting to be here in the first place.
We basically just sat here waiting for something to happen and not stare at each other while doing so.
This club didn't feel like a family anymore, it felt rather depressing to be here after everything that had happened.
It went on like this for quite a while, but then, finally, somebody broke that awkward silence.
"You think Miguno and his band will perform with us again?" Mina asked into the round carefully, I guess for the reason of politeness trying to start a conversation about a topic that wasn't related to me. But as nobody knew anything about that either, they all just ended up looking at me after all because I was in the same dorm as him.
The only thing I could do was to shrug my shoulders about it though, since I hadn´t actually met him since Monday-night anymore.
Just getting reminded of that made me feel like a real jerk once again. I really missed spending time in my dorm in the meanwhile. It almost felt like they didn't want to have anything to do with me anymore either, and still I couldn't blame them for it if I was totally honest with myself.
The conversation Mina started had died with that shrug of my shoulders again. I took another look around the room, they all just stared in random directions. They didn't even lowly chat with each other or something like that. Juno looked like she didn't care about anything that would be decided here today. She was just physically here to not get caught slacking as it looked like, but that usual excitement on her face before we get to know the details about a new performance was nowhere to be seen today.
It looked quite tragic right now, but then, luckily, our wait now finally seemed to have come to an end anyway.
Sanu´s office door now finally opened and he came walking towards us with a sheet of paper in his hands.
"Okay…" he announced, coming to a halt in the middle of our circle. "…so…we're doing Heracles this time."
About half of the drama-club members sighed a little bit already. This was a piece nobody really wanted to do the last time already, and it seemed to pull the general mood down even further.
Sanu refreshed our memories about it nevertheless: "A hero who did great things with a lot of courage, strength and cleverness. He was the only one capable of completing a number of almost impossible tasks, doing it for the sake of his people but causing a lot of damage and genocide in the end. Almost undefeatable, almost a god and still damned to fail in life. Killing his family and lastly himself in flames because he couldn't live with his fate anymore."
"Yeesh…" Tao commented dryly, "…doesn't that sound like a whole lot of fun."
The rest of the club wasn't all that motivated about it either, and I could easily see why: It once again was a story about a lonesome hero having to deal with most of the important stuff all on his own. This was getting really old in the meanwhile.
"It is a rather serious approach this time…" Sanu explained, "…but we´ve gotta extend our spectrum a little more, so this might be a good exercise."
"And who is playing the ´big strong hero´?" Aoba asked, being slightly skeptical about this whole thing as well.
At first I thought he asked that because he was pretty certain he would get a lead role once again, but then he explained why he asked by looking around the room symbolically. He didn't want to do it either.
They naturally looked at me as well, but the rumor seemed to have spread already that I didn't want to be in the center anymore.
"Legoshi" Sanu answered the bald-eagle's question quite plainly.
It was not just me who was really surprised about this.
"Wait…" Aoba said, asking the question on everyone's mind, "…really?"
"The principal told me it would be best if we treat this situation just like we´ve always treated it. Legoshi is still a student here and he's still a member of the drama-club."
Since I wasn't all that jazzed about that news either, I just sighed loudly now. I didn't like that idea very much, but there was one thing I hated even more about this.
"The Principal. Of course, it was the goddamn Principal who wanted me to go on stage again! After all that, he wanted me to continue as if nothing had happened. I should be taking someone else's lead role again, playing in a piece nobody wants to perform in the first place. This is just bullshit!"
They all stared at me again, predictably, but there wasn't really a reaction about that statement from Sanu. Nobody seemed to care about that piece and nobody seemed to care about the lead role either. Not even Kai.
I took another short look around, then I decided to do something about it. I got onto my feet, walked towards the pelican slowly, and when I arrived at him, I carefully took the sheet of paper out of his hands. He wasn't even trying to stop me, I guessed either because of my physical appearance or because he knew about my status and influence on this club.
It really was just a hand-scribbled list of all the actors' names and the roles they would be playing, but I took my time reading it from top to bottom. They all patiently waited for me to do so, and I could literally feel how badly they wanted me to change something about this whole thing already.
The list was also sorted by importance, rehearsal focus and possible replacements if an actor was sick or didn't want the role. All the roles had multiple different possibilities for who could play them, not a single one seemed to be final yet, except mine of course. Aoba´s name had been standing behind mine earlier, but then it got erased from the list again as Sanu probably thought it over and came to the conclusion that I was the best option for the main role yet once again.
Nothing about this triggered even the slightest spark of enthusiasm for me. None of those other roles really seemed to matter, nobody would remember anything after watching that performance.
I returned the sheet of paper to him, then I began shaking my head with a distinct expression.
"With all due respect" I commented quietly, looking him right in the eyes, "…this is awful."
"W-what?" Sanu asked in quite disbelief, "I thought you had preferred this piece over the last one we did already."
"I preferred it over the Odyssey" I explained, "…but I'm sure there are better pieces than this as well. Look at these characters, with so many options for who could be playing who, none of them will be remembered by anybody. I'm sick of stealing everyone the show."
"L-Legoshi" he stuttered, "…I…I was just not sure of which role I want to give to whom and-"
"Oh, but you were sure of me playing the lead role again?" I told him rather harshly, "…I´ve got to disappoint you, but I'm not doing that."
"W-what?"
I just nodded with an unbothered expression and went back to the spot I had been sitting on before. I really don't care what he thought, this bullshit had to stop now.
"Legoshi…we´ve had this discussion a couple of t-"
"No" I said again, shaking my head, "…kick me out of the drama-club if you must, I´m not doing this. Think of something better. Let us do something everyone can enjoy."
He was genuinely speechless about that decision of mine, but I felt quite comfortable at the moment. With the status I enjoyed right now, I was pretty much immune to anything he could throw at me. Not even the will of the principal mattered to me anymore, there wasn't really anything he could do to me either.
The other members of the drama-club seemed quite content with that statement of mine too, they all nodded in agreement.
"…I…I can't just start all over with a script!"
"…I'm very sorry" I told him with a shrug of my shoulders, "I´m not playing that role. Why don't you give it to Aoba or Kai?"
"I was thinking about that too, but-"
"Doesn't seem to fit me" Aoba interrupted him, apparently being on the same page as me here.
Then Kai began shaking his head too. "I don't have the statue for playing a big hero," he said lowly, "…I don't want to do this either."
As that was surprisingly humble coming from him, they all stared at the mongoose for a moment, but it didn´t seem like he was joking here. He just shrugged his shoulders about it as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.
"…can´t we do something with music again?" Sheila asked, pretty obviously not being too happy with that piece in general either, "…something we can dance to? Something fun in times like these?"
We all found ourselves nodding to that suggestion from her.
Sanu seemed to have noticed the general demotivation in the meanwhile, and it left him a little dumbfounded right now. He still tried to ignore the main issue though.
"I…I can't kick you off the actor's team, Legoshi…" he sighed, "…not after everything you've achieved for us."
"It's not just what I've achieved" I corrected, "…they've all worked hard, they all deserve to be in the spotlight. Can you please stop making me bigger than I am already?"
The pelican now suddenly looked really annoyed about this as well.
"I´m not making you bigger than you are, Legoshi!" he told me loudly, "…it's just that you're the face of the drama-club! My hands are tied here! They all want to see you, they all want me to put you in the middle! The principal, the newspapers, even the mayor told me to do that!"
"What really?" Aoba asked in surprise, "…the mayor cares about our drama-club?"
"It´s about sending a message…" he sighed, now calming down a little, "…Legoshi is a Beastar, he has been involved in some really dangerous business and people are really scared of him right now…"
He turned towards me with that, "…I´m sorry I didn´t discuss that with you in private, but I think they all know about it by now."
I nodded understandingly. I was actually quite glad he mentioned that with all of them being around. I didn´t want to have those unspoken things in the room any longer than necessary.
"…the principal also asked me to do a more serious and tragic piece once again. So I still think this is one of the best options…"
Although it made a little bit more sense to me now, I still shook my head about it with a distinct expression.
"I don't care what the principal wants…" I told him, "…I've listened to this bullshit long enough and I don't want to hear it anymore. You either work out something else or you´re doing this without me."
Sanu just looked at me for another moment, then his shoulders dropped with a little sigh of resignation. He finally seemed to have understood that I was not joking about this.
Nobody else said a word when the pelican let his gaze wander around the group. They all seemed to be on my side with this, either because they were loyal or still really scared of me.
Sanu now turned towards his office and went on his way with the piece of paper he brought.
"Take the afternoon off everyone…" he then announced, just before closing the door behind him, "I need to re-think this. Let's meet here again tomorrow afternoon."
POV Juno
I didn´t care about the play we were gonna do. I didn´t care about any of that drama club stuff, not even Legoshi talking back to Sanu like that changed much about that. I had much bigger things to deal with. I wasn't even sure why I came to this meeting after all, I guessed it was just for the purpose of distracting myself.
The nurse had told me to immediately visit her for another appointment after the test if I should have a positive outcome, but I didn't find the courage to do it yet. I really preferred anything to going back to the infirmary right now.
I was pregnant. And to make matters even worse, I was pretty sure I was not pregnant with just a wolf growing inside of me.
"I was not careful one fucking time and now I am pregnant from a fucking mongoose?"
I was pretty much on Autopilot this whole day already. I hadn't talked to anybody, I had not responded to anything. I was just physically present.
They all noticed something was wrong of course, even Legoshi seemed a little concerned, but I didn't give them any reason to approach me. I wanted to decide for myself who I wanted to talk to.
I had been thinking about this over and over again, but I came to the same conclusion every time: Legoshi was the one I wanted to tell first about this. I knew he wouldn't make fun of me, I knew he was trustworthy and I knew he would understand. And if anything, I knew he would protect me from Kai´s rage if he wouldn't take it well. Legoshi was not in love with me, but I knew he wouldn't ever treat me badly in a situation like that.
So when Sanu told us he needed to re-think the project and they all stood up to leave the room, I waited for them to do so first and hoped he wouldn´t be the first one rushing off either. It seemed like he sensed it already, because he was actually the last one to get moving and took his time doing so.
"Hey Legoshi" I asked him lowly, "Can I talk to you alone for a moment?"
He turned towards me in a calm and gentle way, nodding with a little smile.
I took the lead towards the storage room behind the stage, and after I checked that we were indeed alone here, I turned towards him carefully.
He still looked a little concerned about me when I took a moment to examine his face, it seemed like he already sensed I was about to tell him something big.
I've imagined this to be really difficult, but it actually was surprisingly easy for me to keep a straight face right now. I imagined this to be way more stressful.
"…what is it?" he asked, actually sounding quite calm and friendly right now, "…everything alright, Juno?"
I began shaking my head slowly.
"No" I immediately used that opportunity, "I wouldn't come to you if it was like that, would I?"
He looked at me for a moment, then his gaze wandered towards the floor with a guilty expression and his ears drooped a little.
"I…I'm very sorry for not telling you earl-"
"It's not that" I stopped him right away, although I've actually been waiting for that apology from him as well, "…I have way bigger problems right now."
"How…how much bigger?"
"Promise not to yell at me."
He looked a little irritated there for a moment, but then he nodded. "I´d never yell at you for anything...why would I-"
"I'm pregnant."
"What?!" he yelled at me, more from surprise than from anger though, "…I…I mean, really?"
The shock went through his entire body. His ears stood up straight and it was the same story with his tail and his general posture.
I nodded quickly, gesturing with my hands to keep his voice down. I felt tears forming in the corners of my eyes again. Now that he knew, it certainly was a little more stressful.
"…it's not from you though" I quickly added now, "…at least I'm pretty sure of it."
"It…it has been a while since we…" he tried to remember, obviously having a little foreboding coming up already though.
"I think the Birth control I used was still in your flat…" I explained my theory, "…it probably still is…"
He found himself beginning to nod to that slowly, "…yeah, I´m pretty sure it is…" he mumbled, looking really conflicted about it in the meanwhile, "…I always thought it belonged to Skye…it just said ´canine´ on the box."
"Either way…" I waved it off, "I visited the nurse yesterday and she told me to get a pregnancy test. It was positive."
"You think it´s Kai?" he asked, surprising me a little by saying it that plainly.
I just nodded slowly.
I was pretty sure he would just call me stupid or naive at this point, telling me that I should have been more careful and that my life really was fucked now, but I underestimated him there yet once again.
Instead of treading all over me with smart advice now, he just got a step closer and hugged me carefully. Although I couldn't quite understand his compassion for me right now, I just embraced it and finally stopped holding in my feelings.
I hugged him back and left in tears. I haven't cried since the pregnancy test result yesterday, I had just been trying to ignore and act over it all this time, and now there was nothing stopping me anymore.
"T-thank you for not being a dick about it!" I told him lowly, "…I didn't know who else to tell about this!"
"Well of course I'm here for you!" he told me, almost sounding like he was in slight disbelief, "…we´re all here for you!"
I just looked into his eyes right now, trying to find out how serious he really was about that statement.
"…Anita and Jack miss you so much too! They´re asking me about you every day…" he explained, "…they were just too afraid to talk to you!"
"I…I thought they all…I thought they all hated me now" I explained under tears, "…since everybody is just on your side all the time…"
"What?!" he asked in slight shock, "…they're all really disappointed of me."
That statement confused me even more now.
"…I can't even blame them…" he added lowly, "…I've turned into a real asshole lately…"
He slowly moved his gaze onto the floor now, actually having a kinda tough time telling me all that right now."…I haven't been talking about it, I have tried to not make you worry about me with all this Shishigumi-stuff…" he explained shamefully, "…but now I finally realized that that has made it even worse in the end."
"I…I guess you´ve been under quite a lot of stress" I told him lowly, "…I didn't believe you when you told me you´ve been abducted…and then…" more tears were coming up, "…and then you´ve got those guns pointed at you during our premiere!" I took a big gulp of air, "I didn't understand anything anymore! I didn't believe it either…I…I just tried to distract myself at that point!"
My heart was beating really fast in the meantime. He still hugged me tightly, giving me all the comfort I could ever need, still listening to me talking my soul out.
"…and then I heard that you got shot in a gunfight!" I continued, "…I…I´m sorry I´ve not believed you! I´ve been really selfish and really greedy!"
He looked me deeply into my eyes once again, then he shook his head slightly.
"I don't blame you for anything…" he told me gently, "…I have no right to blame you for anything. I want to say I´m sorry too. I still want you to see me as a friend and I still want to be there for you!"
I just nodded to that in agreement, resting my head on his shoulders once again. That was all I wanted to hear from him right now. That alone gave me back so much energy.
"…has the gunshot wound healed in the meanwhile?"
"It's all good" he told me with a reassuring little smile, "…don't worry about me. You´re so much more important now."
"I…I don't know what to do…" I stuttered, as I suddenly got reminded of that topic again, "This is so scary!"
"It is…" he agreed, "…it is a lot scarier than getting shot by a gun if you think about it…"
"Oh shut up" I told him with a little laugh, quickly swallowing that short spurt of happiness though.
"It's true!" he chuckled, "That's a whole lot of responsibility! That's way more than just a few days in a hospital."
I nodded slowly, kinda understanding where he was coming from, but I couldn't entirely agree with him on that comparison.
"I have to tell Kai about it as well…" I told him now, "…that's gonna be hard enough…"
"You think he has any idea?"
I shook my head about that slowly. "I think I even told him that I was on birth control…" I explained lowly, "…but I think I haven't actually taken it in weeks before it happened already…"
Tears were forming in my eyes again. I probably looked like the most obvious teenage-pregnancy case ever to him, but he still didn't give me shit for it. He was just as sweet as the boy I fell in love with the first time I met him.
"I feel so stupid about it" I sighed.
"Come on," he said, "…it's not the end of the world."
"You´re not going to tell anyone about it yet, are you?"
He shook his head with a serious expression. "That´s all for you to decide. But you should prepare for people starting to ask questions sooner or later…"
I nodded slowly.
"I'm here for you…" he assured me once again, "…no matter what anyone says."
POV Kai
While all the other drama-club members were leaving the building, I suddenly remembered that idea I had last night already and decided to go back towards the main stage once again. The doors weren't locked usually anyway, and since I was alone here anyway, I was pretty sure nobody would even notice I was there.
When I walked past the backstage storage room though, I already noticed that I wasn't alone here after all.
Two rather tall creatures stood in the shadows, gently hugging each other, obviously having felt alone here as well, but they surely noticed me before It was too late.
Legoshi already looked towards me, Juno still rested her head on his chest, sobbing with tears a little.
Being caught already anyway, I slowly went a little closer towards them.
"Is…is everything alright?"
Legoshi´s gaze went towards me now.
"Kai…" he said lowly, and that alone made Juno look up a little bit, "…what…what are you doing here?"
That question startled me for a little moment.
"I…uhm…last night I remembered something I had seen during the premiere…" I explained quickly, "…one of the Lions was searching for something before they were forced to leave. They had weapons with them, so I was afraid there might be some loaded guns around here…"
"What loaded guns?" Juno asked in shock when hearing it, "…Legoshi I thought they were…"
The taller wolf now began shaking his head slowly.
"What?!"
"I said that so the audience wouldn't be too worried about me…" he confessed lowly, "…I'm pretty sure they were real guns after all."
"Oh my god!" Juno yelled, putting a hand in front of her mouth, "…Kai, why haven't you told Sanu about this earlier?"
"I…I didn´t…" I pointed at Legoshi now, "…I didn't want the whole club to freak out about it…"
"…but…" Juno stammered, "…where do you know that from? That the guns were real I mean…"
I was hoping they wouldn't ask that question, but I somehow still managed to bring my answer across to be believable as well.
"I…I mean…Legoshi got shot in a clan-fight…" I said, "…I'm pretty sure they wouldn't bother to get fake guns when they had intentions to kill him all along…"
She looked even more horrified now that I said that out loud like that, but it still seemed to be believable nevertheless.
"…well…" Legoshi sighed, "…they didn't want to kill me at first. They tried to send a message, threaten anyone who would try to get them in trouble…"
"Why…why did they shoot at you then?" I asked curiously.
"…because it was me who attacked them." he answered with a little sigh, "…they wanted me to kill Louis as a peace-offering."
"What?!" Juno cried out, "Is that true?" Legoshi nodded slowly, carefully hugging her again. "Don't worry, he's fine."
Hearing that out of his mouth struck me a little differently than the stuff I´ve heard on the news after it happened. I didn't even know that Louis was a part of it, and now hearing of Legoshi having to deal with decisions like that was just downright scary.
I felt that anxiety kicking in once again. That feeling of just being a really small fish in a very big ocean. It just reminded me how small and unimportant I was in the bigger matter of things. Legoshi on the other hand still had the greatness of not wanting us to worry about him, still listening to us like we had any importance to his life. That greatness of still giving a shit about regular people like myself.
I couldn´t ever deserve to be with Juno. I couldn't ever be in any reach of that. Just seeing her in his arms like that reminded me again that letting go of that childish dream was probably the best thing to do after all. She wouldn't ever see me as someone who had the greatness of Legoshi, and I couldn't blame her for that.
She looked really devastated by hearing that right now, but it made sense since she´s just heard of that now. I guess this was the first time she´s been really talking things over with Legoshi, so it was understandable that she was this emotional right now.
"…and you think there could really be loaded weapons lying around on the stage?" she asked again, wiping some tears from her eyes.
"I was just about to go there and check…" I said with a shrug of my shoulders, "…you guys can come with me and help me if you want…"
"Yeah…" Legoshi agreed, apparently finding that idea not too bad either, "…we should do that now before anyone else finds anything."
POV Skye
I´ve had a slight foreboding about this already. Ten wouldn´t just call me to a meeting in her office without a good reason. In fact, I´ve actually had expected this to come way sooner.
When I entered the room, I took a short look around to make sure we were alone here, then I took a seat.
I was pretty sure what this was about already, but I wanted her to start it off anyway.
She closely inspected me for another moment, trying to read my intentions from my expression, but I didn´t give her a whole lot to work with.
"The black market is slowly but surely turning crazy with the Shishigumi gone…" she began explaining something rather obvious, "Voices are getting louder. They´re all blaming Legoshi for this…and we can´t say he´s completely innocent either."
I nodded in agreement. "He´s getting stronger though. I´m training him hard and-"
"Skylar!" she stopped me, "The kid is 18! He hasn´t even graduated yet! He almost got killed and he´s about to get targeted by a lot of bad people really soon! The Shishigumi have played a huge role in getting meat supplies, and you know that. The consequences are taking effect already, we can barely stop them from rioting!"
"…I…I know…" I sighed, having thought about all that in advance of course, "…but what am I supposed to do with him? He´s not afraid and he wants to stay here to graduate with his friends…"
"You have to leave him" she told me dryly, and I had kinda anticipated something like that as well, "You have to leave him and you have to take the blame on you. That´s the only way you can save him for now."
I already knew it would come to that sooner or later, but it hit me a lot harder right now than I imagined it would. She was really serious about this, and she had a point with what she said, sadly.
I had to move out of this city, had to leave my life behind me, had to leave Legoshi behind me.
"…but…how can I take the blame on me? Who is going to believe me?"
She now wordlessly turned her notebook around and started a YouTube video she had already opened in her browser. It showed the last drama-club performance of the Cherryton Highschool in which Legoshi got attacked by the Shishigumi. The video had over half a million views already, and in some parts, the focus was just on me fighting off those lions.
I didn´t know who exactly shot this footage, most likely somebody in the audience, but those cellphone cameras surely were getting good in the meanwhile. There was no doubt this was me and that people who had seen this video would recognize me again.
"A lot of people know you´ve been working with him" Ten explained dryly, "We can make a statement video in which you tell them that it was your plan alone to bring them down..."
I obviously didn´t like that idea very much at the first time hearing it, but when I thought about it for a moment, it seemed to make the most sense of all the options we had.
"…but you think this would be enough to take their eyes of Legoshi?" I asked, still slightly skeptical about it however.
"You might need to get a little provocative…" she said, seemingly a little unsure about that as well, "…but trust me, that has been getting on a lot of peoples nerves already, and it´s not like nobody knows about you either…"
I nodded understandingly.
"I´m gonna have to move out of town after this…" I reminded her with a little sigh.
"I´ve got you covered for a little while" she explained with an understanding little nod, "…you two have been of great service to me after all."
"Well then…" I sighed, trying to force a little smirk, "…this was inevitable anyway, wasn´t it?"
"Do it as soon as possible, today if you can" she advised me, "…I´ll get Boris to set something up for you."
POV Legoshi
Kai actually was right about his suspicion, I really found a loaded gun when we searched the dark corners of the stage. One of the lions must have dropped it when Skye and I were fighting with them.
When I dismounted the magazine, it was filled to the brim with bullets. There was a fully loaded gun on our stage this entire time, and the only thing that stopped it from going off randomly was the safety lever that still held the trigger in place, luckily.
Juno almost looked like she wanted to throw up at this point though. She didn´t say a single further word, even when I told them I would bring it to the principal right away and tell him about it.
She followed me a bit of the way there, but then she suddenly turned off into another direction and was out of my sight in a matter of a few seconds. I guessed she really needed to be alone for a moment.
I went towards the principal´s office nevertheless, still carrying the gun we found with me, not to be stopped on my way. There were a lot of things that needed to be said, and I wasn´t afraid of saying them.
"Legoshi!" he greeted me firmly when I entered the room, "I was talking to Sanu just a moment ago and I must say I am a little disappointed-"
"Oh really, are you?" I asked back coldly, pulling out the gun from the inner pocket of my jacket and placing it on the table before him.
"…w-what is that supposed to mean now?" he asked with slight concern in his voice, "You´re not allowed to bring a gun to school, Legoshi! Not even a Beastar is allowed to-"
"We just found this by the side of the stage" I explained dryly, getting really annoyed already, "It was Kai´s idea to take a look since he remembered one of them dropping it during the fight of our premiere."
"Who?" he asked in slight confusion, apparently not even remembering who I was talking about.
"He was the one who also saved the premiere on that day" I reminded him angrily, "…don't talk to me about being disappointed!"
"Oh, you´re talking about that Mongoose?"
This man really annoyed me in the meanwhile. I just nodded with a cold expression.
"I…I´m sorry I didn´t remember right away!" he defended himself, "…let me sort my thoughts for a minute!"
"You know exactly who he is" I told him dryly, "…you´re just trying to make me feel more important again! And I´m sick of-"
"Everything is going to shit right now, Legoshi!" he suddenly growled at me, "Stop acting like you´re the only one being affected by this! The black marked is slowly but surely turning crazy with the Shishigumi gone, the Mayor has my ass for even still letting you finish your graduation and walk around in public, and your sorry ass is too lazy to play a little role in a school drama club once again?"
I was a little surprised by that sudden breakout, even more by the topics he cared about right now.
"What´s his business with the black market? Is he involved in some business there as well or is he just a customer? Is he even allowed to be a customer there as the Principal of a Highschool?"
Whatever it was in the end, him getting louder with me still didn´t impress me very much.
Without saying a further word, I grabbed the gun again, released its magazine and put both items onto his desk again.
I didn´t need to say anything, just the fact that it was a real gun was enough to make my point.
The Bengal Tiger stared at it for a little while, then he buried his face into his palms for a moment.
He seemed really distressed about this situation, almost like this really was a personal issue for him. He knew I had a point, but he just didn´t know what to do about it.
Not having anything further to say, I stood up from my chair now and left his office.
I didn´t care about this drama-club bullshit, I didn´t care about his issues with the black market, I didn´t care how he would get rid of the gun I just delivered into his office.
I was pretty sure he would find me if he had anything to say that had more value to me, but until then I didn´t want to sit here and listen to any more bullshit.
POV Kai
"Kai" he greeted me when I came back into my dorm, and although we weren't alone right now I wasn´t even ashamed about it, "Is everything alright?"
Tyler immediately looked a little concerned about me, William looked up from his phone as well for some reason. It probably was a little weird for him that Tyler was talking to me like that, but I didn´t mind that anymore. The other mongoose was the person from this dorm who mattered the most to me in the meanwhile, and I wouldn't just blow him off to look cooler in front of the others anymore.
"We´ve just found a gun on the stage" I explained lowly.
"What, really?" Tyler asked in shock, "…like…from the premiere performance?" I nodded.
"Fuck man…" Spencer commented, putting his phone away completely now, "…from those lion-guys?"
I nodded again, throwing myself onto my bed now. I was really exhausted from all that acting in the meanwhile.
"Good thing they weren´t real guns, right?" the Raccoon now asked.
"It was a real gun" I told him dryly, "Legoshi had the magazine in his hand."
I could literally hear him swallow his coolness right now. Normally being the wannabe-smart guy, always on top of the conversations, he suddenly was really small and quiet on that matter.
"…so they could really have killed him during that performance?"
"They tried to kill him in that clan-fight later…" I said with a shrug of my shoulders, "…I don't think he got shot by a fake gun."
"Shit man…" William said, "…I thought this whole thing was fake and he just wanted to let you perform his role on stage…"
"This was never about me…" I sighed, shaking my head to that, "…he just said that with the fake guns so the school wouldn't freak out about it."
That was left with a few moments of silence.
"…man…I think I would just have lost my shit in that situation" the raccoon then confessed lowly, apparently just now realizing how dead serious all this was.
"He´s a really good guy" I sighed, "…and he deserves all the fame in the world…"
"Totally!" Tylor agreed.
"…but this is also really scary."
They both nodded in agreement when I said that.
"…I have to say…" the raccoon now told us, "…I didn´t really like him at first. I didn´t get what all the hype was about…"
"You haven't seen any of our performances so far, have you?" I asked, almost sounding a little rhetorically.
He just shook his head with a little shrug of his shoulders. I hadn´t expected it to be any different.
With the exception of Tyler, none of the guys in my dorm were interested in anything art- or culture-related. They usually just talked about "manly" topics like Sports, cars, booze and the girls they´ve been with. They probably thought everything theatre-related was lame or gay, so naturally, they never cared about anything I was doing.
"The performances really have improved a lot since Legoshi got onto the stage for the first time" Tyler explained, "…but it was not just him, the entire club performed on a totally different level! I´ve enjoyed everything since Romeo and Juliet! You should really give it a try!"
It seemed like he didn´t just say that to motivate me right now, his eyes were sparkling with excitement when he did it. He really was a fan of us as it appeared.
William still didn´t seem entirely convinced though, probably because it was Tyler who said it, but he didn´t say anything to talk it down either. To me, that was a bit of a win already.
"…did you really have sex with that wolf chick though?" the raccoon then changed the topic rather conveniently, "The one from the Halloween-Party who was on stage?"
I had prepared myself for this since quite a while already, and I had already been wondering why they didn´t ask so far, but I now was a little surprised that he asked about this late after all.
I nodded with a little shrug of my shoulders, casually acting like it wasn´t that big of a deal, and then I remembered that it actually really wasn't.
It didn´t make me feel any cooler right now, it didn´t even matter to me anymore.
"Damn, she´s freaking hot, isn´t she?" he asked, being just as uninhibited as always.
Tyler was smiling at me as well right now though. It shouldn´t have wondered me that he enjoyed this topic.
"It was a nice experience" I told him with a little sigh, "…but it´s not actually that great when it´s just a pity-fuck."
I decided to just own this right now. I didn´t want to have to keep playing that role for all eternity. Nobody would ever consider Juno and I as an item, nobody would ever take a relationship like this serious anyway.
When I saw her hugging Legoshi when I met them on the stage earlier, I noticed that she deserved somebody she could love just as much as anyone could ever love her. Somebody who´s able to protect her, somebody from her own kind.
I didn´t care what my dorm-mates would think of me, I didn´t care if they would call me a loser because of it. Tyler had taught me quite a lot for that matter. Giving a shit about other people´s view´s wouldn´t make me happy in the end.
William just silently nodded about that answer of mine, being rather compassionate about it as well, and then we switched back to the other topic again.
"What did you do with the gun?" Tyler wanted to know.
"Legoshi brought it to the principal´s office. And he looked really pissed, let me tell you!"
"What? About the gun?"
"Juno looked like she wanted to throw up when he found it…" I said while nodding, "…it appears he still cares about her a little."
"Well…he´s been shot by a gun recently…" Tyler reminded me, "…I think it´s understandable that that had been bothering her a little bit."
I nodded in agreement.
"…she was hugging him when I found them in the storage room. It looked like they´ve been talking a few things over, finally."
"It´s about time, isn't it?"
He probably wasn´t even aware of how right he was about that once again. It seemed like he could just read it right from my face. I was glad I had somebody like him around to talk about it though, I really needed to get this off my chest.
"Juno seemed to be in a totally nother world while the drama-club meeting today. She didn't talk to anyone, she didn´t care about anything we discussed. …and we discussed quite a lot! It looked like she was just physically there, but totally elsewhere with her mind…you know…"
Tyler nodded understandingly while William looked a little bewildered.
"Since when are you two into celebrity gossip?" William asked with an ironic little chuckle, as it was pretty obvious he didn´t know anything about the circumstances.
"You still care about her a little, don't you?" Tyler asked with a little smile, ignoring that comment from the Raccoon for now.
"I just want her to be alright…" I sighed, laying myself flat onto my back lazily, "…she´s been going through a lot lately, and I just want her to be happy again."
POV Boris
"Hello. My name is Skylar, and I´m the one who brought down the Shishigumi." she said into the camera, having an expression so cold and dead-serious on her face it sent shivers down my spine just from watching.
I was a little surprised already when Ten suddenly called and ordered me to organize a tripod, a video camera and some suitable lighting equipment for the room we normally used for interrogations, but I had it all ready by 5PM nevertheless.
Now I filmed Skye sitting in a chair, apparently being about to turn the entire city upside down once again.
"…I used the Inarigumi for cover and resources, I pushed Legoshi into becoming a Beastar, I gave a gun to Louis so he could shoot their leader and replace him that way."
I still didn´t understand what she was doing that for, but she was saying those lines as if they were nothing but the truth.
"It was a long and hard way I had to go, but now I´ve finally achieved my goal. And if you like it or not, the lions are gone and won´t ever come back. So for those who are on my side, you´re welcome. For those who aren't… …sorry not sorry" she said into the camera with a tiny little smirk on her face. Not a joyful smirk, just enough so it would mock the afflicted a little bit.
"What is she doing?! She would have to leave town if that video would ever published! Why would she make a video like that in the first place? Does she really want that to get published?"
She left a little pause before she continued.
"I have anticipated that a lot of you wouldn´t be very happy about what I did, and that´s why I´m sending you this message. I might be your worst nightmare, the worst pain in your lives and the biggest bitch you can think of, but I´m a woman of my word and stand for what I´ve done. I forced Legoshi to become a Beastar and sabotage the Shishigumi, I´m responsible for their downfall. None of this would have happened without me."
Her evil smirk now widened a little bit, "I wish you the best of luck finding me. By the time you see this, I´m probably not even in Japan anymore. Don't bother to ask anyone about my location, they won´t be able to tell you anything. Not even Legoshi knows where I am, but I dare you to find out if he does."
She now came even a little closer to the camera for her final sentence.
"For those who still think it´s a good idea to track me down, I have a nice surprise waiting for you if you should find me."
With that she put her hands in front of the camera and showed her claws with a serious looking expression. "Best of luck, Idiots."
A moment later she nodded towards me and stood up from her chair. I stopped the recording and waited for her to walk around the tripod.
"Honestly…" I said, showing her my own claws for a moment, "…if I didn´t know how good you are at fighting, I wouldn't be very impressed by that…"
"That´s the point, Fluffy" she chuckled tiredly, "…I´m an easier target than Legoshi. A little vixen showing her claws like that just makes larger carnivores chuckle in amusement."
"You´re trying to save him, aren't you?"
"Can I count on you?" she asked back with a little smile.
Still not being anything but awestruck by this woman, I nodded affirmingly.
"Thanks Boris" she told me, putting a hand on my shoulder, "…he´s gonna have a hard enough time already, I´m glad you´re looking out for him a little."
With that she already headed out of the room, but I managed to stop her one last time.
"Where are you going though?"
"Somewhere nobody will find me" she told me with a serious expression, "…not even Legoshi."
"You´re just going to leave him like that?" I asked in slight disbelief.
"He´s not gonna let me leave if I try to say goodbye" she sighed lowly, "…I know it will hurt, but it´s the only way to at least keep him somewhat save."
I nodded understandingly, but I wasn´t sure what to say right now. I guessed not saying anything was fine, so I just went with that in the end.
"…should I tell him something?" I then asked a moment later.
She thought about that offer for a moment, then she shook her head slowly.
"…my flight is at 7am tomorrow morning. I´m gonna spend one last night with him and leave him a note before I leave."
"…Ten was quite serious about getting this done as quickly as possible" I mentioned in slight confusion, pointing at the camera I just filmed her with, "…wouldn't she want us to publish this today?"
"Have you ever seen me get punished for not directly following her orders?" she asked back with a little smirk, and this was not a question I really had to answer.
"Good point" I chuckled.
She had opened the door in the meanwhile, apparently not even wanting to see the recording again.
"You think he's gonna be fine without you?" I asked her, not really sure why exactly that was coming up in my mind right now. I guess I really did feel a little sorry for the kid.
"I think we both knew this was never meant to be forever…" she sighed, "…I just hope he can understand why I have to do this."
POV Juno (by RedLiteAlexi)
Each step into the garden felt like stepping on thin ice. At any moment I expected the earth to give way and send me falling into the darkness of the world. The prior day felt dreamlike. There were periods of time that I honestly couldn't remember and I felt like I was blinking in and out of consciousness. I couldn't remember eating breakfast or going to class but I knew I did.
I looked down at the cold dry soil of the garden as I walked along the path. It sent a chill down my spine as I thought about it. The first day of the rest of my life felt so traumatic already. I had snuck out of bed and left Haru alone this morning. I bet she felt so sad when she woke up.
She was trying so hard to get me to open up the night before. I locked her out and probably made her feel like a bad friend. Before I knew it, I was already crying again. An anger coursed through me.
"Why the hell do you have to cry about every little fucking thing!" My internal thoughts screamed at me.
"Your tears aren't going to fix any of your problems. They certainly didn't keep you from being a slut and getting yourself in this fucked up situation."
I gripped the sides of my head as I walked. I wanted to get rid of these intrusive thoughts so badly. I thought I was tearing myself apart. I was on the verge of breaking down. I actually had gone and gotten myself knocked up. I was like every teenage romance stereotype embodied. How could I do this to myself, to my family. Oh god what would they think?
My father was a soft spoken and kind doctor that mostly worked with female animals. I know he was popular for his compassion and professional courtesy with his patients. Even still imagined that he would be overcome with disappointment.
My mom on the other hand had the potential to overreact. I had a good relationship with her but she could be inconsiderate and cold at times. The thought of having to have that conversation made me wanna cry more. I would also have to return to the nurse and let her know so I could get more medical advice.
My mind wandered to my future and what would happen now. How could I attend a university now, would I even be allowed to finish out my last few years of high school?
I could see the shed and greenhouse in front of me. Another moment and I would be inside.
My hand rubbed my flat stomach.
"This is really happening." I said to myself.
"Maybe… I could put you up for adoption." Another tear rolled down my check. I knew what that would mean. If Kai was the father, then my child was a hybrid. Hybrid children placed up for adoption were rarely adopted. Many were wards of the state from the time they were children until they were adults. After that, they were left with no support on their own.
"I… I won't do that to you." I said with pained breath. I was so shaken up by the events of today. After seeing the guns uncovered from the stage, my sense of security within the school was largely shaken. Even though the shishigumi was defeated for now, there was the possibility that new enemies would arise against Legoshi. They might take action against him and attack him here as well.
God forbid they had no compunction about acting violently while on the school grounds. Either against the wolf or anyone who got in the way. Surprisingly when Legoshi came into my mind, my mood changed. A little smile crept over my face. I guess I hadn't realized it but during the ordeal with the guns, Legoshi and I had a conversation. I was able to confess my pregnancy to him and he wasn't mad or condescending. He was so sweet and caring, in that moment I saw the dumb wolf boy that stolen my heart and it reminded me of what I saw in him. Even though I delivered the news to him that he had a slight chance of being the father of my child, his first concern was for me.
Regardless of the slim prospect of becoming romantic partners again, it was nice to know that he was still sweet enough to be a caring friend. I rubbed my stomach again.
"I guess I need all the friends I can get right now." I said aloud. After having condescending thoughts and painful feelings all day, this bout of clarity made me feel much more confident. My ears twitched and I heard the sounds of shuffling from inside the green house. I looked through the slightly cloudy glass panels and saw the rabbit working on the other side.
"Haru is my friend too… and I'll be okay if I tell her the truth. I stood outside the door and took a deep breath.
I was going to have to tell so many people in the future. This would likely be one of the easy times that I would have to have this conversation.
"You can do this." I opened the door to the greenhouse and walked inside. I felt the instant change in humidity as the hot wet air settled against my fur. I saw Haru across the room, continuing to rip up the dirt and plant matter. She scooped it up with a little trowel and was placing it in bags. She made quite a bit of sound as she did so as she didn't turn to me as I walked into the greenhouse. I slowly took soft steps up to the rabbit when I heard the faint sounds of music.
I looked at the rabbit and saw small devices that fit into her ears. Little white cords ran down the sides of her head and down to her pocket.
"Hmm what's the best way to get her attention?" I asked myself.
The rabbit continued to listen to music, seemingly oblivious to my presence. I crept up further to her, my arm outstretched as I did so. She placed another scoop of the dirt into a bag.
"Haru." I said loudly as I looked down at her. She must have seen my shadow as soon as I did because the little rabbit whipped around, preparing to slash with the little trowel like a knife. I let out a scream and threw up one arm to protect myself. Her face portrayed instant regret. I was so shocked that I nearly lost my footing, causing me to look down. I was at loss for words as my other arm desperately tried to cover my belly.
Haru dropped the tool and pulled her headphones from ears.
"Juno! You can't scare me like that!" Haru put the headphones in her pocket and exhaled. She must have seen how saddened and shocked I was. "I'm sorry… maybe I overreacted. Are you okay?" She asked.
"I…yeah." I was feeling kinda winded from the dense humidity. While I wasn't as ill as I was the prior morning, the long day of turmoil had run me down hard.
"I guess… I wanted to say I was sorry about yesterday." I said.
"It's okay, that was yesterday." Haru said with a smile.
I tried to speak again. I just wanted to get this off my chest. "Okay, well in that…"
"Wait." Haru said. "I should be the one apologizing to you. I was a bit noisy and I didn't mean to put you on the spot like that." The draft rabbit said.
I didn't want to interrupt her but I was also wanting my turn to speak.
"Ha…"
"I've been kinda selfish. I didn't think about what you must have been going through and I should have given you your space." She continued.
The heat of the greenhouse was becoming more irritable. I really did like Haru but this series of uncomfortable things was annoying me greatly. I opened my mouth but she was still talking.
"I'll give you all the time you need to focus on yourself and when and if you're ready to tell me what's on your mind. I will gladly zip my lip and give you my full attention."
My hand landed on her tiny little shoulder. "Christ rabbit, that's what I'm trying to do right now!" I was louder than I meant to be. Even still I had to demand that I was given time to speak my mind. It was now or never. I had to tell her the truth.
"Juno… what." She said, taken aback.
I shut my eyes for just a second and they burst open along with my mouth.
"I'm fucking pregnant!"
POV Skye
This really was harder than I thought it would be. He looked so cute like that, sleeping peacefully besides me, not at all aware he would have a really shocking day tomorrow.
His life finally didn't seem to be all messed up for once, and here I was, lying awake, waiting for it to become 5AM so I could get on my way to the airport.
The note I had written for him was laying on the kitchen table already, my suitcases were already packed and in the back of my car.
I had made sure he had one last nice evening with me. I had told him that I loved him too, and I hadn't been lying about that. I didn't want this to happen either if I was totally honest with myself.
He was the only one who ever really understood me. He was the reason I could finally take revenge on those lion-bastards who killed Jack, he was the person I could connect the most with.
Just thinking about having to leave him filled me with so much sadness and sorrow. My breathing was really heavy and painful, my muscles were stirred up and my body was shaking nervously.
When the time had finally come, I kissed him onto his cheek one last time and then quietly left the room, careful not to wake him up.
The way down towards the parking garage felt a hundred times longer than it normally did, my legs felt heavy and I found myself considering changing my plan yet once again.
"Maybe if I took him with me…maybe we could start a new life together…maybe- No!"
I shook my head violently, trying to shake off the one tear that silently ran down my cheeks. "Forget about it already! Don't make this more complicated than it needs to be! He's gonna get over it eventually! He´ll survive this and you'll survive this as well!"
I took another deep breath, then I put the key into the ignition and started the engine.
"Farewell my love" I sighed, although nobody could hear me, "Let´s both get our fucking lives together."
There we are. Chapter 22. I hope you still enjoy this story a little. If you did, I´d be glad if you let me know in the comments ;)
Big thanks to RedLiteAlexi for all the help and his little contribution once again! Go check out his stories (on AO3) and show him some love, I´d really appreciate it!
Next update will be for "Minus times Minus" again but I can´t tell you an exact date.
In the meantime, say hi on discord if you want, we have all the smut, all the memes and all the nonsense you could ever want. Just ad me (Furrwolf#8163) and I´ll personally invite you to the server ;)
Stay safe and have a nice day!
~furr