(AN: And so we've arrived to possibly the biggest turning point of this story so far! After 31 long chapters, an event I'm sure MANY of you have been waiting for has now finally began to set the stage. A lot is going to happen, even with the chapter split due to how long the final chapter was (23k words... christ). I just wish I could have gotten this out sooner, as last week, I expierenced a head injury at work leaving me DEAD tired for a few days, and then I got sick.

So you know, FUN last week.

Anyway, with that out of the way, the roller coaster from the last few chapters only continue from here, including the aftermath of what you saw last chapter. So now, let us begin, but before that, a MAJOR advisory before reading:)

cw: racism/xenophobia, homophobia, and transphobia, as well as a brief mention of sexual assault

...

you did read the disclaimer from the last few chapters about 'too real' topics being shown, right? last warning, just so ya know!


*beeeeep*

"You've reached the Department of Foreign Language and Study at Mobius University, this is its head, Valdez. If you're listening to this message, it means that I'm currently away from my office at this moment. If you'd like to schedule a meeting or anything else with me, my office hours are Monday through Friday from nine AM to five PM, and on Saturdays from ten AM to three PM. Likewise, my email can also be found on the Mobius U website. If you'd like to leave a message, wait until after the beep and I promise I'll get back to you as soon as possible, okay? Bye."

*beeeeep*

"YOU HAVE… FIFTY-THREE… UNREAD MESSAGES. FIRST UNREAD MESSAGE."

"Mother fucker, is this what you and your office does?! I'm spending thousands of mobiums on my daughter's tuition just so people like you can bring thugs and rapists to campus?! If I find out some foreign fucker hurt my daughter, a fucking bullet is going through your head, bitch!"

*beeeeep*

"You're exactly what's wrong with this country! You're a traitor, bringing communism into the minds of my children!"

*beeeeep*

"RETIRE, COWARD! WE DON'T WANT YOU INFESTING OUR SCHOOLS!"

*beeeeep*

"We'll be making sure we pressure the university to defund you! Look at our border issues! You only make this worse! RETIRE NOW!"

*beeeeep*

"I'm calling to rebuke you, in the name of Gaia! How dare you poison the minds of impressionable children and make them go back to their parents allowing them around such dangerous people! We refuse to have your Ilbis worshiping ideas brought to college campuses, where freedom is already restricted! I REBUKE YOU, IN THE NAME OF GAIA, TO LET YOU BURN IN HELL WHERE YOU BELONG!"

*beeeeep*

"We're coming for you, fucker. I lost my job five years ago because of you Yurashian fuckers. You ought to be hanged for treason against the United Federation. It's sickening to see this is what Central City allows in its walls. Until you retire, we're going to make the lives of you and your little foreign shits and your bosses and bosses' bosses utter HELL. We'll make sure we replace you all with people who love our country! We won't let you turn universities into more of an indoctrination to socialism than they already are!"

*beeeeep*

Valdez stared at his answering machine as it went to the next message. With a woman screaming about how mobians are savages, the blue chameleon heard another beep as the machine had another forty-six messages to go. He sighed, holding various folders, notebooks, and Espio's weekly letter as Valdez got his office cleaned up before heading to Gojo for the weekend. But with all this going on… how could he focus on just cleaning?


It was Saturday evening when Espio once again found himself at the Central City Soup Kitchen. With him assigned to dish washer for the night, the chameleon scrubbed the sides of a giant container that once held cheese, scraping the few bits that were left. This method of cleaning dishes was something the chameleon still found odd, as he was used to the nanny washing the bowls and other eatery in a trough just by the storehouse of the back of the Shinobi Clan's dojo.

But it wasn't the menial task of dunking his hands into soapy water, cleaning a dish or a container with a sponge, then soaking it before putting it into the disinfectant water that Espio focused on at that moment.

It was what he'd talked about yesterday with Smithy.

He recalled where he'd been at that moment. The two were once again sitting together, ignoring the calls and yells coming from the other prisoners bothering the lion for interacting with him. Instead, there was one thing Espio asked as they began their break…


"You say… you have a sss.. su… son?" Espio asked, breaking the silence between the two. Smithy looked up from his spoonful of chili, a rather sad look on his face and one that was uncharacteristic of the maroon lion.

"I…" he sighed once again. "I know this won't especially make sense, boy. I've been getting shit for it a lot from the others. You yourself might even be asking why I give so much of a shit about you. But I don't just give this treatment to you. As long as you aren't an asshole to me, I've played second father for years for some of these guys. Some of them never knew their real dads, some of them had deadbeats, others did one thing that fucked up their life forever and they cry for their parents in the night. I've heard and seen it all. That's why someone's gotta be there for them. And that someone… is me."

Espio blinked as he stopped eating, fully listening as Smithy continued. "But… I do this because I'm a coward. Because I want to act like I'm a true dad, when I'm not. I'm a fucking piece of shit who ended up in a gang, and my son now has to live with that fact."

Espio looked down at the table, then back at the lion. "Does he know yu-you?"

Smithy's face fell. "Just a month after I got arrested due to the gang I was a part of at the time, I learned that one of our fellow gang members was knocked up and that the baby was… mine. I'd been sleeping around with her for a while but… I didn't think that she would get pregnant, especially because once our gang was busted and so many of us went to jail, she got a slap on the wrist for cooperating with the cops and exposing others. I don't hold her up to it. She was scared and likely after learning about her pregnancy, she wanted a life where she could raise her son without worry, even if it meant betraying her friends. I knew how much it hurt her too… especially once the baby had been born."

Smithy looked over to the side, fist on the side of his face. "Imagine that. You learn that you're going to be a father for the first time, and you're held up in custody and unable to see them. The worst part was too… that this continued even after he had been born. My former ally moved on with her life, and very seldomly did she visit. I've counted too. I've been locked up for sixteen years now. I've only seen her six times, and of those times, I've only seen the kid… twice. Once when he was five, and the next when he was fourteen. I don't even know his name… but I see my eyes in his own. I've always wanted to ask him… how does he feel? How does he feel having a monumental fuckup of a dad who doesn't even know his name?"

Espio could see a side of Smithy the lion never showed. This was only their third meeting, and yet… he was open about something as serious as this. He looked down at his plate…

Even as Smithy was unable to see his son, he still loved him.

Did father too… love him, even from beyond the depths of Yomi?

"Since seeing him years ago, and I've counted, I learned that he's about sixteen now. Imagine that, you're close to becoming an adult and your dad is still locked up in prison and he doesn't even know your name," Smithy continued. "I know she remarried and he has a stepdad, but… I still dwell on the fact that he's still my boy. And while he's been making friends, participating in school activities, all the things kids love to do, I've been rotting away here because I thought being some badass rebel as a teen was my future. Once… just once… even if we don't have any connection, even if he doesn't even know who I am, I… I just want him to call me dad… The one thing I've wanted to hear from his mouth… since kn-knowing about him."

Espio could see Smithy's eyes get puffy and red as he wiped a sole thumb on one of them. Sniffing, he turned away from the chameleon.

"Ah… sorry, kid. I don't normally like showing this side of myself. I don't… like to talk about it… at all," the lion continued. "But… now you see why I am who I am. All this to try and be a father figure to the youngins who come in here. To show that I'm not a failure, even if I can't even be there for my own damn son. And with you… it's like… it's like he really is right by my side for once."

Espio continued to stay silent as Smithy looked at him.

"You seem to have a goal set in your heart, Espio. You want Vector to feel the same about you like you do to him, no?"

The transfer student nodded.

"That's why I wanna be there for you, kid. You have dreams and aspirations, something that you want to work for."

"You… too," Espio finally replied.

"I wanna learn my boy's name. Learn what he likes, what his favorite color is, how he's doing in school… all that. Even if his mother won't let me near him out of fear… I want to show both of them that I've moved past who I am. To be there in his life, even if its taken me this long to do so."

Espio put his hand on Smithy's, his tail relaxing as he looked at his friend.

"It isn't just me too. I know all these boys like to look at you like you're a piece of meat, but the truth is, we all have wants, dreams, desires, even if some have to die here. There are some inherently evil people, yeah… and we make sure we give them hell when we get our hands are them. But for the rest of us, not all of us are bloodthirsty or cruel. Like-"

Smithy pointed to a blue hawk at the serving counter.

"Predator Hawk over there wants to open his own food truck business when he gets out, even wanting to employ several people from Prison Island. Al and Cal over there," he proceeded to point to two small Overlanders. "-want to be entertainers for children, even beat up a dude in the showers who was convicted of killing his kid. And that's just to name a few. Just here in this room, and especially back on Prison Island, society at large wants to see us as cold, ruthless monsters when all we want is for the chance at redemption. There's only so much screaming at us will do to make us better people, something we all want to achieve. You get it now, kid?"

As Espio looked around the room, he noticed that though some of the prisoners gave him the stink eye, others seemed to be enjoying themselves. The lion was right. Behind their eyes, they too had families, had people they loved, and had aspirations.

Just like him…

If his mother found out he had sympathy for people like Smithy and his fellow criminals just then, only the gods would know what she would do to him.

"Smithy…" Espio began. "About you… My father… is de-dead. He die… tu-two yi-years ago."

"I'm… sorry to hear, kid. Both my folks bit the bullet while I was locked up. Losing someone like that is the worst feeling ever. Your entire world set up from the day you were born collapses, and the people who swore to take care of you and love you are no longer there. That's what I fear with my boy… he may not care if I one day die, but if something happened to him… I'd crush my head against the wall out of shame knowing I couldn't do anything…"

"But… you are like my father, Smithy."

Smithy looked up at the chameleon. His eyes watering, the lion tried to look for words, but was gobsmacked.

"K-kid… you…"

It was true. In a way, Smithy reminded him of Naga's caring, loving side. While his mother was usually busy with running Gojo and the nanny took care of him and Shami, he saw his father more in his life. In a way… Smithy and how he saw his estranged son reminded the chameleon of his late father and his regrets while within Yomi. He wanted to pray when he got back to the dorm to the gods to allow Naga's spirit to wander peacefully within Yomi.

As Smithy smiled, he saw something within the lion that he hadn't seen in two years.

The warm smile of a father.


The fact that Smithy had such bravery to tell him something so personal in only their third meeting reflected hard on the chameleon. If he could tell Espio about his life before prison as well as the son he hasn't seen in years… What was stopping Espio from telling Vector and no longer fearing retribution of some kind?

"You have dreams and aspirations. Something you want to work for."

What Smithy told him repeated in Espio's mind over and over again. It was the chameleon's dream to break free from the shackles of fear, for Vector to not react poorly to his feelings and for… for him to also feel the same.

It was funny. Espio wondered if he was acting like the legends and tales of people such as Orihime and Hikoboshi, or like the Noh play he saw when he was a child about the twin pine trees. After all, since discovering his feelings and sexuality, he truly questioned if ninja like him ever were meant to fall in love. That's what perplexed him the most about mother and father…

Did they love each other like how Espio loved Vector?

The chameleon shook his head. He wasn't either of them, and he didn't think he would get an answer either way. He was still expected to come home, have his wedding, and forget about the Outside World, especially now that it was starting to look like his mother was becoming suspicious. She wanted him to be the obedient man he always was, and he wanted to… to stay away from that.

Had he really become the rebel that she feared? No, he was still doing well in his classes but…

"Why must I trivialize this. I know who I am, and though I will continue my loyalty to my Clan and my family… my heart still longs for Vector…" the chameleon thought to himself as suddenly, there was a snapping finger in front of him.

"Wake the hell up and continue! Who said you could take a break NOW?!" one of the Zone cop guards yelled at him. Espio sighed and looked at the man with a dirty look, having no choice but to go back to work.


THE NEXT EVENING

"Tip's already on the card, dun worry 'bout it," Vector said as he helped the poor small purple robot bring in the dozen pizzas into the dorm and placing them on the chair by the desk.

"Whew… thanks a lot, guy. Of course, they have the smallest robot deliver a big order like this," the robot delivery driver said. "I am SO gonna get on Decoe's butt for this… Thanks for the tip by the way, I just need you to sign here."

The small robot began to fly up towards the crocodile and put a receipt and a pen to his face, allowing Vector to scribble a signature.

"Thank you! Have a great night!" he said as he began to fly away, stopping by the doorframe and pulling out a chocolate egg from his shirt pocket before eating it happily. Vector looked at the robot oddly as the boxes of pizza steamed next to him.

"Didn't think robots could eat…" he said to himself. The crocodile didn't focus on it however, as tonight had finally come. It was finally time for the CMFL Championship Bowl between his favorite team; the Downunda Gators, versus the Emerald Hill Foxes.

With the dorm set up for the night, Vector waited for his various friends from the Badniks to arrive for the watch party since several of them were holding their own. The crocodile had invited Knuckles (and Mighty even though he wasn't a Badnik), Thrash, Rotor, and Brawny, with the added bonus of one of Mighty's wrestling buddies, Ripper, who the quarterback invited at the armadillo's request.

"Okay…" Vector said as he turned on the TV, getting up and pacing around the room to make sure tonight would go perfect. "I got mah part taken care of. Knux and Mighty said they'd take care of chips, Thrash said he'd take care of beer, Rotor was bringin' non alcoholic drinks and Brawny was gonna bring Clucky wings… should be everythin'... aw, damn do I even have plates and napkins? Fuck, now I'm hoping SOMEONE brought some."

It should have been a stress free night, especially since the mood on campus was fierce with its fellow Football fans. There were everything from small things predictions in the A building earlier today, to more crazier things like the E-123 vending machine being decorated with football gear to celebrate and someone running around campus nude.

A sight Vector wished he could forget if he was honest…

As a commercial on MSE played, the crocodile sighed as he checked his phone, making sure that the others in the Badniks group chat weren't offline. He wasn't sure why he was so stressed about this, after all, he wasn't playing. Was it nervousness? Was it that feeling you get when you're a kid and your parents hype something up for you that they won't tell you? Whatever it was, Vector wasn't sure. One thing was for certain though…

One person would be missing from tonight's watch party.

Espio had already left campus to go to his weekend community service, and wouldn't be coming back until the very end of the Championship Bowl. It was a shame really, as he wanted the chameleon to experience this and be around friends and acquaintances, and hopefully bolden up to talk to the chameleon about what'd been going on with him and his feelings. But alas, it seemed it wasn't in the cards tonight.

"I'll just save Espio some slices fer tomorrow. I know he eats there," Vector said to himself as suddenly, there was a knock at the door. The crocodile perked up, getting off the bed and with his tail bouncing, walked over to the door and opened it up. When he did, his first guest arrived: Thrash.

"Dude, you won't believe the line at one of the nearby stores," he said, several plastic bags in hand as he walked inside. "The only thing left was the bottled wines and that was it. I managed to get lucky and find a few things."

"Nice to see ya made it, Thrash. Dinner's already here too."

The Tasmanian devil looked over to the seat with all the pizza, a grin on his face.

"NICEEE!" he replied in one of his signature yells. "You got supreme, right? I specifically asked for it, and I'm gonna be PISSED if you don't!"

"Oh, I remember the time yeh threw a fit last year when we all watched the Championship Bowl in the K buildin' cause Rudy didn't bring supreme. I ain't gonna have a repeat of that."

"On that note," Thrash brought out the multiple cases of beer he brought out. "Seltzer or lime?"

"Gimme lime to start off."

The purple Wide receiver opened up the paper case with his claws and pulled out a can of beer, throwing it to the crocodile. Vector caught it in midair without issue, opening it up.

"Even in the off-season, you still catch damn good, Vec," Thrash complimented. "A natural quarterback, if you ask me."

"Oh, dun stroke mah ego now, I'm waiting fer the Foxes' fans comin' here," Vector replied, shaking his head as he took his first swig of his drink.

"By the by, did you need me to take off my shoes? I know last time I came by here, your roommate, that… Espia guy didn't want me to keep them on."

"It's Espio. And uh… he's off at his community service right now and won't get back 'till maybe the end of the game. I think it should be fine."

"Espiooo, right, that's his name," Thrash shook his head, pointing at the crocodile. He grabbed one of the seltzers and opened it before looking around. "Man, I sure am hungry. I skipped lunch today just for tonight."

"Ya sure dude? I know we're in the offseason but…"

"Aren't we the ones eating a bunch of junk and likely getting wasted tonight?"

Vector shrugged. "Fair. Call it a cheat day. Been about a month since mine. Better not let AD Sommersby see any of this."

"I'll say. By the way, got any plates? I don't wanna just burn my hands…"

Before Vector could open his mouth, the door knocked again. The two turned towards the door as the crocodile got up and opened it, revealing Knuckles, Mighty, and Ripper. The former two held multiple bags in their hands as the latter stood behind them both, keeping to himself.

"Well, look who it is!" Vector said. "C'mon in. Hope yer hungry, pizza got here about a couple of minutes ago. Whatcha bring?"

"Regular tortilla chips with salsa and cheese dip," Mighty counted down. "Then cheese puffs, and then barbeque and wavy potato chips. I really wanted to get those new sweet and sour corn chips, but they were out…"

"I said that to Vec with all the booze!" Thrash said from behind the crocodile, finger in the air.

"Oh come on, don't tell me you got here before me?!" Knuckles complained. The Tasmanian Devil made a face of accomplishment.

"Nyehh, guess who's too slow, knucklehead! Oh that's right, you!"

"Cocky cause you think the Gators are gonna win, huh?! Do I gotta remind you about the last couple of years when-"

"Can we MAYBE have the rivalries when everyone gets here. Trust me, I'll be on Thrash's side soon enough, THEN yeh can give us both shit fer it. Make yerselves at home first. Hey, that applies to yeh too, Ripper!"

The large red mouse nodded his head as he walked past the armadillo and echidna, the two following behind him as they set the bags of chips down before looking at the pizza.

"You got plates dude?" Knuckles asked. Vector snapped his finger.

"Aw, damn! I was just gonna ask. Didja bring any from the store?"

"I don't mind having to eat out of the box," Knuckles replied. "Hey, Big, Mean, and Purple, what booze did you bring?"

As Thrash showed his ware of drinks to the echidna, Vector was notably getting more relaxed as everyone arrived. Soon after the three, Brawny had come over with a to-go box of twenty-five barbeque and buffalo Clucky wings, and had thankfully brought tableware.

"Yeh saved our life, Brawny," Vector said to the warthog as he began passing out food. "There's still time left, but Rotor still ain't here yet. Where is he?"

"I can text him if you want," Brawny replied. "I hope he hasn't chickened out after what happened last year."

"What do you mean?" asked Mighty.

"Oh, last year, Rotor brought some stuff from Meh Burger for us and one of the things he brought was their meatless burgers. Monk got on his ass hardcore for that."

Vector looked over at the warthog when he told Mighty this. It was the exact same story he told Mr. Valdez after his fight with Connery. Vector was glad that the purple gorilla was nowhere to be around, as he would likely be making unnecessary comments about… well, anything. From the half-time show, to the commercials, SOMETHING always seemed to find his ire.

"I'm sure he'll be fine. Monk ain't here to say anythin'," Vector replied. However, uncomfortable silence filled the room as everyone looked at each other.

"Have you… talked to him or Connery since that interview?" Thrash asked. "I heard their group had something on Friday. It was all over campus."

"I did. And I'm better off forgettin' they exist. How much ya wanna bet they had to beg to get people to come?"

"I… wouldn't be too sure. I heard that thing was pretty popular."

"Knux, Mighty, and I decided to just head to Route 99 fer the evenin' and then go bowlin' after. I wasn't gonna be around fer that, no sir."

"Hey, let's not focus on those two tonight," Brawny said as he sat back down with a plate of pizza in hand. "We're here to watch a game, not gossip about two idiots. Especially one that wants to just resort to personal attacks."

"Yeah, I remember that," Knuckles replied. "Monk's always had some kind of dislike for you majoring in theater."

"Cause the dude hates anything that isn't just huffing testosterone every hour of every day. It's annoying if you ask me. I worked for my body, sure, but I don't make it my personality," Brawny took a bite from his pizza, chewing.

Just then, a knock at the door broke the tension in the room. Mighty this time got up from the floor and opened the door, revealing Rotor standing at the doorway.

"Rotz! We were gettin' worried 'boutcha!" Vector said, raising a hand. "And… wow… what the heck didja bring? I thought ya were just bringin' soda."

The walrus had multiple bags in hand as he stepped inside, looking around. "I did. But I did some extra runs. First, I got napkins because NONE of you idiots ever seem to remember to bring any. And next, I got some stuff from Meh Burger too! Mainly for me since I don't like pizza too much, but I did save some stuff for you if you want any! Did the game start?"

Vector checked his phone. "Just twelve minutes to go. Pregame show is almost over."

"Well, looks like I made it on time then! I'm ready for a fun night!"

Thankfully, the air around the room lightened up as food and drink were being passed around the entire room, the minutes counting down as the time to the Championship Bowl inched closer and closer.


10:28 P.M.

Espio's eyes moved back and forth as he walked down West Hall. The building was surprisingly noisy tonight, muffled voices yelling from either disappointment or happiness coming from so many dorms.

What was going on? Why was everyone acting like this?

The chameleon didn't like what was going on. The amount of noise was starting to become a little too much for him. Most of all, the transfer student was starting to become worried. If all these voices seemed to just be coming from all over, was… was Vector okay?

"Calm down," Espio told himself. "I'm sure nothing bad happened. No one seems to be in pain, so I shouldn't have to worry."

But as he looked around the empty hall, Espio had a feeling of uncertainty. And so, hiding behind one of the walls, he put his hands together and immediately began his incantation chant for Chroma Camo. Seconds later, he turned invisible and began to slowly creep past the intersection and then inch closer and closer to the dorm.

That's when he heard it.

"NO!"

It was a scream from Vector.

Espio felt his blood grow cold. He thought no one was in pain, but… but Vector was… was in trouble!

No longer caring about being caught, Espio ran to the dorm's door and quickly pulled out his ID from the inro hanging by his waist, pressing it against the scanner. As it beeped and blinked green, the chameleon put his hand on the doorknob, wondering how he was going to attack whoever was hurting Vector without any weapons. It seemed he had to resort to basic hand to hand combat this time…!

With his expression changing, Espio swung the door open and ran inside, not even caring to take off his geta as he got into a fighting stance.

"Vector! I am hii… hea-"

The chameleon's mouth shut slowly as he stared at the scene in front of him. Not only was Vector NOT in danger, sitting in front of the TV with a drink in hand, but so were Knuckles, Mighty, and several of the crocodile's fellow football players. Even that red rat wrestler that Espio saw that one time was here too, all of them staring at the chameleon.

"Yooo! Espio! Ya made it before the game ended!" Vector said, raising his hands in the air. "Come on, yer not too late! It's almost over!"

"G… game?" Espio asked softly.

"Didn't Vector tell you?" Knuckles asked, munching on a chip. "There was a big football game tonight! The entire campus was lit up, don't you remember?"

Espio felt his mind go completely blank. He thought football season was finished for Vector and the others… so what were they watching… and why was there so much trash all over the floor?

"Does… he know what a Championship Bowl is?" Thrash asked.

"I… never told him. Shit…" Vector muttered to himself. That's when Espio looked down and saw everyone with their shoes on.

"S-Shoes is… a-are on!" he said, shocked.

"Wait! Wait wait wait, it's okay, Espio!" the crocodile shook his hand. "I PROMISE once everyone gets outta here, we'll clean this place up. Just… just fer tonight, can ya be a little lenient? Please?"

Espio didn't want to have such a dirty room, not helped by all the food all over the place… but… seeing Vector's face, how could he say no?

And so, Espio sighed. He was just at least glad Vector wasn't hurt…

"What is going on?" the chameleon asked as he stood above the group.

"The biggest football game of the year, that's what!" Brawny said. "C'mon dude, sit down. Vec made sure to save you some food, even getting on our asses for it!"

Espio sat on his knees as he looked around, his mind trying to process everything. Was it normal to have a feast while watching football games? Why hadn't Vector told him? And while it was nice that the crocodile left him something, he did already have dinner back at the soup kitchen…

But as he saw Vector smile at him, well… perhaps ONE thing wouldn't hurt. As such, Espio opened one of the boxes by Rotor's legs and revealed multiple slices of pizza within it. As nice as it was… they didn't expect him to eat an ENTIRE one… right?

"I ate tu-tonight," Espio said.

"Oh! Well, we can just leave the pizza in the fridge. Have somethin' small, why doncha? We still got plenty of chips!" Vector replied. "Oh, what? NO! Don't do that! Whaddya doin'?!"

"So Vec, remember our bet?" Knuckles asked, arms crossed. "That goes to you too, Thrash and Brawny!"

"Oh, screw off!" Thrash snarled back. "Lucky for us, WE outclass you, echidna idiot! Espio here is on our side! He's a true and true Gator, aintcha, Espio?"

The chameleon looked confused as Rotor helped pour some corn chips for him. "Huh?"

"No way! He knows who the true victor is!" the walrus shot back. "I'd say he's on OUR side!"

"Who's the one that's been roomies with him fer months now! I know who he supports and not!" Vector replied.

"You're just saying that because you got a hundred mobiums on the line, Vector!" Mighty added. "Go on, Espio! Don't be silly, you know what side to pick!"

The chameleon looked around, feeling overwhelmed as everyone turned their attention away from the TV and at him. Who would have thought that the balance of everyone's friendship would lay on his shoulders, and over a football game no less?

"I… I do not know," Espio replied. "Who is pu-playing?"

Everyone almost collapsed out of shock, clearly expecting Espio to take a side.


AND LESS THAN AN HOUR LATER…

Vector grumbled as Mighty and Knuckles were the last two people to leave the dorm, taking their share of the betting pot since Rotor had already left.

"See? Told you that the Gators didn't have this!" Knuckles grinned. "Next time, why don't you just invite us all to dinner. At least you won't be in pain!"

"Yeah, 'cause yeh'd make me go to a fancy one and blow even more than I did now…" the crocodile sighed. "Oh, wipe that smug look off yer face. May I remind ya yer the one that decided kickin' a player in the stomach was a smart idea durin' the finals of the Winter Playoffs?"

"Oh, surely you must not be THAT mad you're bringing up old stuff? There's always next year, bud!"

Knuckles elbowed the crocodile, who kept his unamused face on. Mighty just grinned softly as Espio looked at the three, a complete opposite of the crocodile and echidna's dynamics going on.

"Don't worry, I promise I won't blow it on something stupid," the armadillo replied. "Or maybe I might. Who knows?"

"Now yer just rubbin' it in mah face. Brag about it durin' breakfast and I'm gonna dunk ya in mah cereal."

"Ha! I'd like to see you try!" Knuckles replied, pointing at the quarterback.

"Wanna test it early? We got plenty of food, ya-"

Just as Vector was about to grab the echidna, Espio raised up his hands. "No… no fa-fighting!"

The three looked over at the chameleon as Vector let Knuckles go.

"It's… it's just a joke, Espio. I mean sure, people DO get violent but-"

"It ain't us," Knuckles replied. "Espio's right. We won our bet, and that's that. Can't really change anything now, can we?"

"You heard back from the other Badniks tonight?" Mighty asked.

"Not yet. If we see either of them broodin' though, we know what happened," Vector replied. "Anyway, we should get ready fer bed. Well, YEH two should. I'm gonna be stuck cleanin' up the dorm… mind… mind helpin' out?"

Mighty and Knuckles looked at each other as the armadillo slowly reached both hands into his pocket.

"Yyyyyyeah… I suppose we caaaaaan… tellyoutogetbent!"

The two quickly ran back to their dorm as Mighty in a panic, dropped his ID, picked it up, and scanned it before the two slammed their dorm door shut behind. Vector and Espio simply watched as the former sighed.

"Childish… I swear," he said, shaking his head. "Well, guess it's just yeh and me, Espio. Let's get started. The quicker we can get this done, the sooner we can head to bed."


It had been a couple of minutes, but despite Espio being tired from community service tonight, he helped Vector pack up the remaining snacks, food, and drink in the mini fridge in tupperware and helped wipe down and clean up the floors and surrounding areas.

"Sorry I didn't tell ya 'bout this, Espio," the crocodile said as he wiped his hands over the trash can. "I know ya dun like this place bein' dirty, but I'm just glad ya let it slide tonight. Me and the guys had a great time tonight. Just… wish ya couldda been there."

Espio looked behind him as he was in the middle of organizing the fridge. He looked at the crocodile, hand on his arm. "I… a-understand, Vector. It is okay."

"Nah nah, I saw how ya looked when ya saw everyone. I felt a little guilty."

Espio softly frowned. Sure, he didn't appreciate seeing everyone with their shoes on inside or the mess that was left, but seeing Vector have a good time mattered more to him. Plus, he even got to have a good time for a brief while even though he didn't understand what was going on.

"I forgot to ask, how was community service?" Vector added.

"Good. It is the… how do you say that word…"

"Same ol', same ol'?"

"Yes!"

"Well, at least yer gettin' closer and closer to finishin' up and gettin' that ankle monitor off. Plus, nothin' really has been happenin' 'round here, so it's not like Officer Wachowski has anything bad to say 'boutcha."

Vector walked closer and crouched down to Espio's height, continuing to speak. "And think 'bout it too. Once ya finally finished up yer probation and all that, we can start headin' out again! Me and the guys have already been plannin' fer a night out between all of us on a Saturday. Sounds like fun, no?"

But as Espio looked into Vector's excited face, the chameleon found himself getting entrenched in the crocodile's eyes. This was it… After multiple failed attempts, he was FINALLY going to tell Vector about how he felt. No longer was he going to be held back, this was finally his time to strike!

"Erm… Vector…" Espio looked down. "Do you…"

"Hm?"

"Do I… no… Ha-have you… ever… feel la-love?"

It was the same question he asked Munch days prior. He could see Vector's face change, but very subtly.

"Wh-why d'ya ask? It seems out… out of-out of character fer ya, Espio!"

Espio stayed silent. He knew what to say next, but before he could, Vector continued.

"Is it because yer askin' 'bout Valentine's Day?"

The chameleon stopped. "What?"

"I figured since ya didn't know 'bout other holidays, ya wouldn't know 'bout it. Ya know! Valentine's Day! The day all 'bout romance?"

Espio was confused. What was Vector going on about? In fact, the crocodile stood back up and walked towards the calender, pointing at next Sunday on the calendar on the bulletin board.

"Yeah, here, see? It's next week! It's more fer like, couples and all that, but I think friends can celebrate it between each other!"

Friends…

That's all Vector saw him as.

Espio felt hollow on the inside, a feeling like his heart being stabbed from behind hitting him as his palms began to get sweaty. What… was this feeling? It was a feeling he never felt before… One that made him feel blue, one that felt washed with sadness…

Why… was he even bothering to try and tell Vector if his gut feeling was right? Vector just saw Espio as a friend, and that confirmed it.

The chameleon turned away from Vector, unsure of how to feel. Vector's expression changed, walking up to the transfer student.

"Yo… is everything okay, Espio?"

"Fake it, Espio. He must not know period anymore. It was foolish what you were trying to do," he thought to himself. With that, the chameleon looked up at Vector, and with a blank face, he replied.

"I am okay."

But it was a lie.

A lie wrapped in cellophane and designed to not make Vector worry about him anymore. Espio had multiple bad things happen to him, but this felt worse than anything in his time in the Outside World.

What was he going to do now?


THE NEXT DAY

Espio tried his best to not think about what happened the previous night as he got up from bed, ready to begin another academic week. He remembered how in one episode of Setsu: The Ninja Cowboy, a woman at a bar ran out crying when Setsu told her they would go on a date and he missed it. He was surprised he didn't turn into that woman all night, wanting to just run out a sobbing mess over Vector telling him that. But he knew better, as after all, keeping your emotions in check was a major part of the Shinobi Clan's code of conduct.

"How could things get worse…" Espio asked as he brushed his teeth alongside Vector in the washroom at West Hall.

He, however, learned his answer after walking to breakfast once they were done getting ready for the day.

When Vector and Espio walked out of West Hall and to the A building, the two began to hear a bunch of commotion from the first floor.

"What the?..." Vector asked. "What's goin' on? Espio, c'mon. Let's check it out."

Espio was surprised that the crocodile had forgotten about what happened the previous night, but why wouldn't he? He'd gone on talking about something completely different… Espio wanted to bring this up, but better to not concern Vector, least of all because he was concerned about something going on right now.

As such, Espio followed Vector behind, his geta clacking as he watched Vector's tail and bag bounce with each step down the stairs he took. When the two reptiles finally reached the first floor of the A building, they saw a crowd gathering by the front doors. The two walked around the crowd, looking around in confusion.

"What's goin' on here?" Vector asked. Just then, one of Espio's classmates from Physcology I, who was standing nearby, spoke.

"That. There's a bunch of protestors outside the gates. They've been here since about eight," he said.

"Protestors?! Fer what?"

"I dunno. All I've been seeing is stuff like, 'NO CRIMINALS IN OUR CAMPUSES', "Socialism Sucks", the like. Or other stuff like, 'Let kids be kids, stop sexualizing kids'. Which… not sure what that has to do with this university, but okay…"

Espio could see Vector's face fall. He could hear him murmur, 'Oh no…'. The chameleon, while still hurt from what happened last night, could tell something was very wrong.

"Vector? What happen?" he asked.

"Dun worry 'bout it, Espio. It's just a bunch of wrong idiots. C'mon, let's get breakfast."

With that, Vector turned around and started to make his way out of the A building. Espio once again looked back, getting on his tiptoes to see a group of people very faintly in the distance holding something up. He wasn't sure what they were holding or what it said from this far, but if Vector seemed this concerned, maybe he shouldn't focus on it either…

As such, Espio followed behind Vector, his backpack and inro swinging wildly as he ran, Vector holding the door open for the chameleon as he caught up. But when the two were outside, they could VERY clearly hear voices yelling.

"DE-PORT THEM OUT! DE-PORT THEM OUT! DE-PORT THEM OUT!"

"STOP COLLEGE GROOMING! STOP COLLEGE GROOMING!"

"NO CRIM-INALS! NO CRIM-INALS!"

Espio was even more confused now, especially since it seemed like some voices were yelling back, although it was faint. He looked up at the crocodile, whose face had changed.

"What is going on?" Espio asked. But Vector didn't answer him. Instead, he continued to make his way to the K building. The chameleon bounced, wondering if he was ever going to get an answer. Thankfully, one did come during breakfast, when he and Vector went and sat by where Knuckles and Mighty were.

"Did you see it?" Knuckles asked as soon as Vector and Espio sat down.

"Ya mean the protestors?" Vector replied.

"I went and saw some of their signs from afar. There was a bunch of stuff that didn't make sense," Mighty added. "No one's doing what they're claiming here, nor are there criminals. I saw stuff from deporting people in the foreign exchange program, to stuff claiming that groups here sexualize kids. That one REALLY confused me."

"It's what I feared…" Vector said, looking down at his batch of pancakes. Knuckles and Mighty looked confused as Espio looked on, wanting to know more. "I was worried they'd take it this far."

"You don't mean… Connery and Monk, right?" Knuckles replied. "They didn't…"

"I dun think they invited them here, but… whatever those two said durin' their little conference last week, SOMEONE clearly heard it. Tch, what the fuck are those two thinkin'..."

"Look, I say we just ignore them. Whoever those people are, they're running on pure reaction and nothing else. They'll forget about this place in like a week," Mighty added.

"Not if Connery has anythin' to say 'bout it. Who's to say there aren't more people on campus who think like him, who think that Espio is nothin' more than a criminal?! And think 'bout everythin' else they're sayin' too… tryin' to tie him into all that shit…"

The other two looked at Espio, who now wasn't even touching his food because of how Vector was acting.

"Are you okay, Vector?" Espio asked, putting his hand on Vector's arm. The crocodile sighed, turning to face his friend.

"Yeah… maybe yer right, Mighty. I haven't let those two idiots get to me, I'm not gonna let a GROUP of clowns try and ruin mah friendship with Espio. Dun worry 'bout who ya see, Espio. If someone gives ya shit or anythin', lemme know. I promise I'll speak to them, privately."

Espio wasn't sure what this entailed, but seeing how serious Vector was… This is what confused the chameleon the most. Vector only saw him as a friend as heard last night, but it was like he was doing everything he could to protect the chameleon. Would someone who saw him as a friend… truly do such a thing?

He was so confused. Maybe he needed to talk to Mark or someone from the LGBTQ League for advice on what to do next.


As he went about through the day, Espio noticed that the protestors outside didn't necessarily leave. In fact, the crowds seemed to get larger, all of them screaming stuff Espio couldn't understand. What did end up surprising Espio, was seeing more of these people on campus, all of whom saying the same things he'd heard earlier in the morning. They seemed to be students like him, and while they weren't large in size, they all seemed to yell at Espio as he left Algebra I.

"Go back, criminal!"

"We don't want you here!"

"Fuck off, Northern Mobian!"

"Espio, come on. Let's go," Mark said as he and Espio walked together, grabbing the sleeve of his haori. "We don't need to be around fascist idiots anymore. Let's hope someone punches them."

But the thing was, it was starting to now feel like… like these protestors were starting to target him. After all, why did that last person just mention Northern Mobius?

It all seemed to hurt Espio's head, but he tried his best to ignore it as he ate lunch, went to Psychology I, and, after getting a text from Vector, waited outside by the assessment center in the A building. Watching people pass by, Espio stood still in front of the door, wondering how long it was going to take Vector to finish his exam. As he did, his mind went back to what happened the previous night.

He couldn't just let this go. He had to talk to Vector about how this made him feel. He had been trying to run away from his feelings again. The chameleon even neglected to talk about this with Mark, who just muttered about the people yelling about Espio earlier in the day.

"What do I do?" Espio thought to himself.

That's when Espio suddenly heard a faint voice.

"E-Espio…"

The chameleon turned to the source of the voice, seeing a small figure fluttering in front of him. Dressed in heavy winter clothing, a scarf and a hat around her, the only thing showing was her eyes… Jewel stood in front of him.

"Jewel!" Espio said, surprised to see the beetle here. He thought she would have been busy helping the school somewhere or studying like she always did. No, it was VERY different this time, as a look of sadness was in her eyes. "Are yu-you okay?"

Jewel looked down at the floor, trying her best to avoid Espio's gaze. "I… I've been better…"

"Jewel… what happened?"

Now Espio was getting concerned. This was VERY out of character for the jewel beetle. She was usually peppy about stuff like learning, or even interacting with him since becoming her friend. In fact, even in the days when Jewel didn't like Espio, she didn't act like THIS. Something definitely happened. Although, now that she was here…

"Jewel, I want to to-talk with you," Espio said, forgetting about Vector in the assessment center. He could wait for just a bit, something that definitely was going to surprise her.

"With… with me? Espio, I… I don't know. You shouldn't be around me these days. You… you might become a target."

Espio didn't understand what she meant, but he looked down at the beetle, almost pleading with her. If he had to get on his knees and perform dogeza, he would have to.

"Please, Jewel."

He wasn't sure why she was acting like this, but as she slowly raised her head up, she stared back into Espio's eyes.

"...only if you promise to walk with me to the library. I need to pick up some books for class. But… we can talk there. I… I also need someone to talk to as well, and I'm… I'm too afraid to walk out of my dorm after what's happened the last couple of days. Are you waiting for someone?"

"Vector is there," Espio pointed at the assessment center.

"Oh… were you waiting for him? We can wait for him too. In fact, I… I suppose I'd feel a little safer with him around, although since he's a star athlete, I REALLY don't want him getting involved-"

"No! No no no, not Vector!"

Jewel's eyes widened. "What…? You… you don't want Vector here? Espio… he's your best friend. What happened?"

"It is…" Espio looked down. "Can we talk?"

He could tell he confused the jewel beetle by his request. But… to his surprise-

"Okay. You know where the library is?"


With the sun starting to slowly fall, the sky above them growing a lighter shade of purple and orange, Espio followed Jewel to the H building, the location of Mobius U's library. Espio hadn't been to this part of Mobius U yet, so it felt exciting to see something new, even if their walk was completely silent. Thankfully, it seemed the protestors who yelled at Espio earlier were gone, but he could still faintly hear some of them from another part of the campus.

Soon after, Jewel opened the doors to the library and let Espio inside, the chameleon stepping inside to a large building with lights all over, stairs to his left and right, and shelves upon shelves of books. In front of him, there was a large circular desk, a blue pika with pink glasses sitting in front of a computer typing away. Jewel slowly fluttered past Espio.

"Let's go…" she murmured as Espio followed behind. As the two walked past the desk, the pika looked up.

"Ah, Jewel!" she said. "How are you doing this afternoon? Are… are you okay?"

"Sorry, Relic. I'm…" Jewel replied, looking up. "Don't worry about me, I'll be fine. Can you tell me where I can find books on Social Science? I need to study for upcoming assignments."

"Social Science? Hm…" Relic the librarian pika turned back to her computer and began to type. "Alright, you can find some books in the entirety of the S section. If you need help finding certain books, come back here and I'll be happy to print you out a few recommendations. Although, usually you know what to find. If you need help, you know where I am."

"Thank you…"

"Are you sure you're okay? This isn't like you to be like this…"

"I appreciate the concern, Relic… but…" Jewel smiled, although Espio could tell it was forced. "I'll be fine. I promise."

The pika raised a brow, but slowly turned back to her computer to continue her work. Espio looked at Jewel, confused.

"Jewel?" he asked.

"Let's… let's just get these books first. Then I can tell you what's actually going on."

With that, Jewel continued to flutter forward as Espio followed behind, getting out his phone and texting a quick message to Vector that he was with Jewel. As they walked past multiple booths, the library opened up more to reveal a row of computers and shelves. The two walked past a glasses-wearing Overlander and a burly rhino mobian by one of the computers, having an argument.

"I told you, I'm sorry!" the rhino said, twiddling his thumbs together. "I didn't have something to plug up my phone in!"

"You…" he rubbed his temples. "That was twenty minutes of work I'm not getting back! Couldn't you find somewhere else?!"

Walking past the two and ignoring their plight, Espio stood by the jewel beetle as she found the section she needed. For the next couple of minutes, Jewel flew around the shelves, grabbing book after book and placing it down on the floor before Espio soon had to help her carry some of the books. After what felt like an eternity, the beetle found herself with thirteen books, something that completely shocked Espio.

"Thanks for helping me out, Espio. Let's get these checked out, then I promise we can talk. We can do it on the second floor, not too many people are there since it's primarily a reading and study area."


After having to carry so many books to the desk where Relic the librarian sat and up the steps to the second floor after everything was checked out, all thirteen books sat on a desk Espio and Jewel were sitting out, both of them alone.

"It means a lot you're here, Espio. I… I know I can really trust you," Jewel said, looking at the desk. "I mean it when I say it, but… thank you."

Espio smiled down at his small friend, sighing as he saw that she seemed a little more calm now. But there was still the matter at hand…

"What happen?" he asked. Jewel's face fell as her breathing hitched.

"I…" she said, quickly. "I know I said I need to talk about it. But… but it's so awful, Espio. I… I never thought this would happen… I just… I wanted to stop something dangerous. I never thought that it would come to this…"

She put her arms around herself as her expression changed to one of panic and fear, a face Espio had NEVER seen on Jewel up to this point. It now worried him.

"But… I suppose I can tell you about it," the insect gulped, then looked at Espio. "Do… Do you know about the conference CCOCC had last week? The one that I said I was going to protest alongside other people?"

Espio nodded, remembering Jewel saying something along those lines last week when he was with Mark to play that board game in the K building.

"Well… I did," she proceeded to turn towards the table. "For hours, myself and about a couple hundred of students stood outside the Space Theatre, calling out everyone there and their history of supporting bigotry. I didn't stop, even as I had people yell in our faces from the other side. Well… I thought I was doing the right thing, until the next morning. When I woke up, there were DOZENS of messages on my phone and my social media, all of which were… were so awful."

Jewel's face grew even more fearful as she continued. "I… I had so many things said to me. It was as small as verbal abuse, to legitimate threats to hurt me... and to… to kill me. And I… I found out that CCOCC named me in one of its speeches that night, with someone even giving out my personal information. All day Saturday and Sunday, I was getting text after text, message after message, call after call. Just today, after calling my parents, I… I changed my number. I had to delete all my social media pages, but… but people are still saying stuff about me. I've been called everything, from a whore, to a bitch, to saying I deserve to get vi… viola…"

A small tear fell down Jewel's face. "I… I can't say it… But the people who heard their speech… they… they want to… to hur-hurt me… Espio. I… I'm scared… I've never dealt with this before. So many things are being said and made about me at this moment, all of them so… so hu-hurtful… and I… I…!"

This was too much for Jewel, and soon, she started to cry. The jewel beetle weeped as she put her hands over her eyes, quietly sobbing. Espio's face softened, not seeing this side of Jewel since he forgave her a few months back. The chameleon put his hand on Jewel's shoulder as she continued to sob, soon pressing her face against Espio's haori.

"Espio… I don't know wha-what to do anymore…!" she cried. "I've never dealt with this before and… and I can't do this anymore…! I have to hide from everyone because… because the protestors saw-saw me and… and they…"

Jewel could barely say anything at this point as she became choked in her sobbing. Espio did nothing, only continued to put his hand on Jewel's shoulder as he let her cry against his arm. Whoever hurt Jewel like this, they were going to pay.

"Jewel…" Espio said as the jewel beetle looked up with puffy red eyes.

"Espio, I… I don't know who I can trust anymore… I feel so alone… so… so alone… All I wanted to do was to-to stop a group of bigots with my words, but instead… I became their new target… I became the-their…!"

"Jewel!" Espio put his other hand on her shoulder, the beetle continuing to sob silently as she stared back at Espio. "You… you are okay. I am here."

"Espio…" she squeaked, wiping her eyes. "Thank… thank you… Of anyone I can trust now… it's only you. Don't learn about what's going on… I don't want them to come after you, no matter how strong you are."

He wasn't sure what she meant, but someone hurt his friend. He was NOT going to stand for this.

"I will de… how do you say that word… deffend you."

He thanked Setsu for teaching him that word, something that Jewel reacted to strongly.

"Espio…! I… I know this hurts me a lot but… you don't have to do this. Connery… Connery's doing all this because of you. I saw a bit of his speech and-"

"You are my friend, Jewel."

The beetle stopped as she took a deep breath before sniffling, still letting out the occasional sob.

"I mean it… thank you so much. I'm… I'm sorry for putting you in such an awkward place. I just… I had no one to talk to about this. I've been too scared to speak up again because I've never had a reaction like this before."

Reaching over to her bag, Jewel pulled out a tissue and cleaned up her face, Espio watching as she did so. As he watched, something in his mind flicked on.

"Tell her. This is your chance," his mind said to itself. "You've been avoiding so many opportunities. You even wanted to talk to her. Do it, now!"

"Hey… I… I wanted to ask," Jewel said before blowing her nose. "What… what was it that you wanted to talk to me about? You said you wanted to say something, and I… I know you want me to talk-talk about something different. I don't even want to think about either. Is… is everything okay with you?"

Espio looked down at the desk oin front of him. This was it. He remembered how much Smithy and Mark pushed him to tell others, what the lion and tapir told him repeating in his mind.

"The more you don't tell him, the more you hurt him and yourself."

"Espio, I know coming out isn't easy, but sooner or later, you gotta tell your close friends!"

"You have dreams and aspirations, something you want to work for."

With all these voices in his mind, he took a deep breath.

"Jewel… I… I am… about Vector…"

He wanted to bite his tongue back like he had been all these weeks. But Jewel looked up at him, expecting him to say something… anything!

He couldn't do this to her.

"Jewel… I am ge… gay. I la-learn this word. And I… la-love… Vector."

Jewel was silent for a brief as her face was unreadable. Espio stared back at her, realizing that finally, he had told the beetle. However, he remembered his biggest fear.

"Ah… ba-but… do not tell Vector! I-"

Espio was shut up immediately as Jewel hugged him tightly. He thought she was going to cry in his chest this time, but instead… she looked up, this time… a smile on her face.

"Espio… you… you are?!" she almost exclaimed. It was like the thing she was crying about earlier didn't happen to her, her mind now focused on Espio's confession. "Oh my goodness, Espio, I'm so happy for you! I've always seen myself as an ally, and I very much gladly support people like you! Thank you for telling me!"

She proceeded to put her hand on Espio's. "I promise, I won't tell Vector until you're ready, but… I suppose I'm not too shocked you have feelings for him. He's such a good person, you definitely deserve someone like him!"

Sure enough, Jewel didn't mind like he thought, but still… to see her react like this… it made Espio smile too.

"Ba-But… I want to tell him. I do not know how," he added, his face now falling.

"Are you trying to find the right place?"

Espio nodded as Jewel put her finger on his cheek, her antennae bouncing. That's when she snapped.

"I just remembered! The LGBTQ League is setting up something on Valentine's Day night! It's not like something TOO huge, it's just a small get together that's open to everyone, but… I think it's the perfect way to tell Vector about how you feel!"

There it was. That Valentine's Day thing that Vector mentioned, the one that… that he said that he just saw the chameleon as just a friend. Espio's face fell even more, remembering what he said.

"What's wrong?" Jewel asked.

"Vector say that… I am his friend. But I love him…"

Jewel turned her head. "You're concerned about him rejecting you, huh?"

"Ri… riject?"

"No, REject. Basically, he won't feel the same about you like you do to him. But… I wouldn't worry, Espio! From all the time I've known Vector, he doesn't seem like the type to freak out about that! That's really good if you ask me, because I remember so many athletes at my old high school saying anti-gay stuff. Even if he doesn't feel the same, I don't see him breaking off being your friend. But still, you can't think that! Unless you hear it from his mouth, you don't know how he feels! Have you felt anything different about him lately? Like, has he been acting weird or anything?"

Espio looked down. Jewel had a point, Vector… HAD been acting odd. From the time they slept together, to when they celebrated Setsubun at the dorm, to even yesterday when they were cleaning up the dorm, among so many other things Espio could recall clearly. Espio wrote these all off as coincidences, but from the way Jewel was framing this…

"There's no other better place that you can do it. No matter what, Espio… like how you're supporting me as all this is happening… I promise I'll be by you too."

Jewel smiled up at Espio before hugging him once again. The chameleon felt a warmth in his chest, happy to finally break the ice with the beetle. But… there was something concerning him.

"Will you be okay?" the chameleon asked. Jewel's face softly fell as she looked down, breaking from the hug.

"I… I don't know. I know that the protestors seem to mainly be against the foreign exchange student program right now, but… if you're not bothered by it… then I need to trust my best to be just as strong as you. I'm not gonna let a bunch of bigots get to me. Besides, if they continue, you bet I'm gonna let the Zone Police know."

However, Espio… wasn't sure if that was going to work, especially with how they treated him in community service. Still, he hoped the best for the beetle, and was looking forward to this day.

Valentine's Day…

The day that he would finally tell Vector how he'd feel.

It was still less than 10 days away, but Espio had to get as ready as he possibly could. This was the one thing he couldn't mess up at all. He may not have trained for such a thing like love confessions, but he was going to take this as seriously as any day of training, plus hopefully learning more about what Valentine's Day was...


"Vector?" Espio asked that night as the crocodile was busy watching an episode of Muckfoot Hunters. Vector turned around to look at the chameleon.

"Hm? What's up, Espio? Havin' trouble with that geology stuff?"

While it was true that Espio was having to do Knuckles' assignments like he promised the echidna for dressing as an oni during Setsubun, that wasn't the question he had in mind.

"No no, it is di… diffeh… different. Jewel tell me about… Vaa… le? Vaaletine event."

"Hm? Valentine's event?"

"Yes! She sa-said there is something."

"Did she tell ya more?"

"Yes, but I do not understand."

"Here, why dun I ask the others about it. They might know what yer talkin' 'bout. If not, we can find Jewel tomorrow and ask her ourselves. If ya need help with that geology stuff, lemme know and we can try lookin' it up online."

Espio nodded as he went back to doing the geology assignments, completely unsure of what the first question was even trying to ask him.


the karma collector

"hey guys"

"espio told me theres something going on on valentines day. some kinda event."

flex the armadillo

" Oh yeah. The lgbt club does this like small event in the k building. I remember them advertising it last year. I didn't go, I heard it was just more of a meet and greet with activities than like a party."

"Did Espio want to go?"

the karma collector

"I think so. One of his friends told him about it. Wanna go? Not like either of you two got a valentine's date!"

flex the armadillo

"Neither do you, buddy :P"

knucklehead

"i dont believe it's the smartest idea"

flex the armadillo

"What do you mean?"

knucklehead

"maybe you havent heard, but CCOCC is planning to protest that event. not just that, it looks like monk is the one in charge of that protest."

Vector sucked his teeth. Was the purple gorilla so much of a chud that even mere EVENTS put on by the LGBT club bothered him?

"Oh wait… it DID," Vector thought to himself, remembering back to how he would mutter under his breath last year whenever Monk saw them anywhere in his sight.

the karma collector

"yeah well monks a piece of shit and doesnt know how to have fun. he can seethe for all I care."

"I wanna have a good time."

knucklehead

"I mean I agree fully, i just dont wanna be heckled. I've been seeing these protestors all day. sure, people ARE yelling back at them, but I'm starting to feel like they arent going away anytime soon."

He knew Knuckles had a good point, but while being there with his friends would be a fun way to spend time with his friends-

"Wait… Valentine's is on Sunday this year! FUCK!" Vector thought to himself, realizing that Espio was still going to be at Community Service, something he knew he couldn't just take time off for. Now the crocodile was getting worried. With all his slipped chances and everything, perhaps… perhaps this event would finally be where he would confess his feelings. Sure, it was beyond cheesy on a day like Valentine's Day, but Vector wanted to show first hand what the day was like to the chameleon. And he wasn't going to let anyone stop him. Not Espio's community service, not Monk, no one.

"I owe this to him," Vector thought to himself as he looked from his phone to behind him where Espio sat doing geology homework. He felt his heart thump louder and louder as he watched him, even something as casual as the chameleon doing homework seeming more beautiful by the aspect that it was Espio doing it.

"He deserves to know the truth. I'm tired of bein' a coward and runnin' away."

He recalled how during his feuds with Connery and Monk, they often accused him of running away from his feelings toward Espio. Maybe they were right at first, but no sooner was he going to prolong this. Just like all the times in his past, he was going to confess to Espio using the Valentine's event, even making sure Espio arrives in time for them to make it.

"How will ya react when I tell ya that I love yeh, in a way more than a friend?" Vector thought to himself, holding his phone to his chest. "Yer so open to so many things from outside yer world… will ya take this well? I can only hope so, Espio. Because I can't get mah eyes off ya, because I long fer ya… even just sittin' here like this…"


While many of the students wished life would return back to normal after what happened on Monday, the truth was, no such thing happened.

By the next morning, the same protestors with a few extra heads added to the mix as well stood outside the gates to the university, still holding their signs, and even some now surrounding the Gerald Robotnik Memorial Fountain with their clear message: end the foreign exchange student program and deport everyone who was a part of it, expel all 'criminals' at Mobius U and have them prosecuted, Mobius U was pushing socialism, etc. This, and other messages were made clear by both outside and CCOCC protestors on the campus, including MANY targets towards Northern Mobius.

While others simply recorded the protestors from afar to mock on Friendspace or Scrambler, others got into their faces and had full blown, heated arguments over what they were protesting, causing a few scuffles here and there.

And as Espio would soon learn, this would only get worse. As he tried to continue his usual daily activities, the amount of protestors coming towards and yelling at him increased double fold, as they now began to recognize the kimono and hakama wearing chameleon as the criminal Connery identified in his speech on the 5th.

Though Vector advised him just to ignore everything that was going on, this came to a tipping point on Thursday, where during his ESOL lesson, there was a knock at the door in the middle of the lesson. Professor Longclaw stopped what she was teaching at that moment and flew over to the door, opening it with her wing as Espio tried to see what was going on, as did the rest of his classmates.

"Can I help you, sir?" he could hear the owl professor ask.

"Are you Professor Longclaw the Owl? I was told you're involved with the teaching of criminals here!" a male voice replied. A confused look on Professor Longclaw's face appeared.

"Wha-wha-wha-what?! Criminals? Sir, what are you talking about?! I don't appreciate whatever you're doing, now if you may, I'm currently trying to teach a class at this very moment. If you aren't a student here, please be on your way, otherwise I WILL inform campus security to have you leave the premises."

Just as the owl was about to close the door, the man struck his hand inside.

"No you fucking don't! Don't close the door on me, bitch! I know you're hiding fucking illegals in there!"

Though Professor Longclaw tried her best to shut the door on the man, he overpowered her as the owl was thrown to the ground, and a stubbled echidna walked inside. As she slowly started to come back up to the floor, the remaining students all began to panic as they got up from where they sat, crowding around the back of the room. He slowly scanned the room until his eyes met with Espio's, the chameleon being the only person who didn't get up.

However, when he did, his face flew into a fit of fury, reddening as he marched closer to Espio.

And then, the yelling began.

"YOU! YOU'RE THAT FUCKING NORTHERN MOBIAN CRIMINAL I SAW! YOU PIECE OF SHIT, DO YOU THINK I'M GONNA BE HAPPY WITH YOU SITTING HERE KNOWING YOU'RE JUST SITTING HERE, BEING A FUCKING ILLEGAL SAVAGE?! DO YOU?! CAN'T EVEN ACT LIKE A GOOD IMMIGRANT SO YOU'RE A CRIMINAL, RUINING THIS FUCKING COUNTRY LIKE ITS YOUR PLAYGROUND YOU FUCKING JAPANESE-"

Espio could only stare up at the man as he continued to hold his ground, not moving as the man ranted and ranted his mouth off. Arms swinging all over the place, curses and threats sputtering from his mouth and spit flying from his mouth onto Espio's desk and even his face, there was seemingly no end to this torrent of abuse. The man's face went from red, to purple, to blue as he ranted and ranted, soon wanting to get VERY physical.

"Get up. Get the FUCK up!" the echidna yelled as he reached to grab the back of Espio's haori. However, the chameleon was able to get up from his chair and slid out of the way, holding his hands up.

"Threat! You're threatening me NOW, huh?! You fucking violent Northern Mobians are all like that! Why don't you come on out in the parking lot, boy! You wanna dress like some fucking shinobi? I'll fucking kick your fucking ass-"

"SIR!" Professor Longclaw yelled, swiping at him with her talons. "Campus security has ALREADY been informed and is on the way right now. If I were you, I would stay where you are so that you don't make it worse for yourself!"

But the echidna was having none of it. He flipped over Espio's desk, gave both him and the owl the finger, and ran out of the classroom as the sounds of "HEY!" and "STOP!" were heard, alongside the sound of running footsteps.

Professor Longclaw turned towards Espio, putting her wings on the chameleon's shoulder. A very worried look appeared on her face.

"Oh, please tell me you're okay, Espio," she asked. The chameleon nodded, thankfully not hurt.

"Oh, thank goodness!" she proceeded to hug him. "Don't worry about me. A little fall is nothing."

Just then, she turned towards the rest of her class.

"Erm… I don't particularly know where to go from here as I can't say such an incident has occured in all my years of instruction," Professor Longclaw looked around the room. "I'll be sure to file a report with the university officials, but in the meantime, let's wait for the campus officers to arrive to see where to go from here and if they catch that gentleman. Please, everyone back to your seats, I'll keep the doors locked until then. I'll also ask that NO ONE leave the room unless absolutely necessary."

As the owl returned back to her desk, there was an aura of uncertainty in the air as everyone reluctantly returned back to their seats, too scared to focus on the lesson anymore. Espio could only look at his flipped desk before crouching down and lifting it up, sighing as he saw his belongings all over the floor.

What had happened… that all these people suddenly came up and screamed at him?


FRIDAY EVENING

After yet another stressful day of assignments, as well as having to lay low as the amount of protestors around campus seemed to get bigger by the day, the chameleon found himself once again at Community Service. He was glad to be around people he was starting to get familiar with, even more glad to be away from campus. Just earlier as he was on his way to the Soup Kitchen, he and Officer Wachowski had to walk by a crowd of protestors, all of them heckling the chameleon.

With loud, angry voices bouncing around his eardrums, Espio could hear demands for him to be sent to prison, for him to be tried as a domestic terrorist, to "go back to where he came from", "go back to Communist Chun-Nan", for him to be expelled, claiming he hated the United Federations, all of which being the tip of the iceberg. Some even called him names he NEVER heard of, but they were sputtered out with some of most venom he had seen people speak. Their looks of anger and booming voices were unlike anything he had ever seen or faced before.

Currently, the chameleon relayed everything to Smithy during the first break of the night, the lion nodding his head as Espio tried his best to describe everything with his English skill.

"What do I do, Smithy?" Espio asked, finishing up his story with telling him that after informing Valdez about what was going on, the blue chameleon informed him that he TOO was receiving similar grief from the same people. Smithy hissed, arms crossed.

"Kid… it sounds like you have your plate FILLED. I was gonna get on your ass for what you're not doing with Vector, but… I don't blame you for not focusing on that. This is…" Smithy said, shaking his head. "Wow. I don't even know where to begin. I mean sure, I get people acting like that in prison. But you're just a university student. And they're calling you a terrorist, want you deported and all that, and frankly the crime you've committed is SO bare bones, five year olds could possibly get away with what you did to land up here. For fuck's sake, I've actually killed people, yet they're acting like you blew up G.U.N.'s headquarters."

Espio was at least glad Smithy had his back, even though he wasn't sure if that was a good look for him, especially since people expressed their desire to see him jailed like his friend here.

"What do I do?" he asked again. The chameleon had NEVER faced such a situation before in his life. Even prior to this week, most people didn't pay much mind to him, or were friendly enough with him, and that was just in the Outside World. Back in Gojo, he was still being hailed as the successor to his father, the one to consolidate his power until Shami became old enough to be a Bride. He never demanded respect from anyone, and yet the people of the Historic District always gave it to him, referring to him with some of the highest honorifics one could use.

"Easy. If someone gives you shit, beat the ever living shit out of them," Smithy replied as he took a bite from his peaches and cream cup, some of the cream staying on his muzzle as he pointed his spoon at Espio. "You can never show weakness, boy. Especially to a bunch of people who think they're hot shit because they're yelling in your face. Even if they're justified or not, and I frankly doubt they are considering what I know about you, you don't just yell in someone's face like that. You end up looking like a piece of shit yourself."

At that moment, it was like Espio's realization from last week came back to him. Though he saw the maroon lion in front of him, it was like his late father was, in particular, the one he was talking to.

"But-" Espio raised up his ankle, showing off his monitor as Smithy didn't seem convinced.

"Bullshit. Forget that fucking ankle monitor and listen, kid. That right there, that isn't a judge and executioner. The pigs all probably claimed that if you do any crime, straight to jail you go. But if you're acting in self-defense, they can't say you were wrong for protecting yourself. Of course, that's what I'd LIKE to think, but I know how the system works. You might have a bit more luck if you ask me, but I wouldn't know. Look, the most important thing right now is that you look after yourself, but look out for others with all this going on. They might go after you one day, but what about your friends, family, all that? Who's to say they aren't next? Those fuckers would see it as guilt by association, nothing more."

The lion was back to one of his long diatribes once again, but… Espio thought about what he said.

"These people have hurt Jewel and Valdez-san. What about Mark? What about Knuckles and Mighty? About Bow and the others, about Sonic and his brother and sister? About… about Vector?"

If any of these people yelling at him, wanting to get physical with him even so much as TOUCHED the crocodile, the chameleon wouldn't hesitate to give up his own life for him. And there was still one thing yet to be addressed…

"Smithy… I told a fu-friend about me. About Vector," he said.

"You did? Well, I'm glad you managed to do THAT. But kid, I've said what you have to do twice now. There's only so much I can do anymore. At this point, you gotta grow a pair of balls and actually do it. And no, I don't care that you're a chameleon. Still gotta do it."

Smithy had a face of disappointment as Espio knew he only failed his task week by week, day by day. Had this been Gojo, his family would have likely disowned him for bringing shame to them due to his inability to perform anything to their liking. And perhaps… perhaps such a fate was only befitting someone like him. No matter how hard he was pushed in his past, he had grown so accustomed to the lack of hardship that something that should have been so simple like telling Vector how he felt was seemingly too hard for him.

And with all these people coming onto campus, angry at him for… whatever reason… it felt having to balance both these factors was like training in the snowy winter, or reciting the ninja arts under the cold waterfalls by Lake Hinami; pure hell on earth.

But even so, he couldn't give up. A ninja of the Shinobi Clan was never set for failure, especially when they have something they would live or die for.

Such was the case with the man standing in front of him…

"Smithy… have you… hear…?" Espio asked, unsure what the other word for 'hear' was in English. "From yi-your son?"

He could see Smithy's eyes widen as the maroon lion turned away from the chameleon, trying his best to avoid eye contact. His face somewhat fallen, Smithy sighed.

"I… I thought I told you. I don't really have any way to contact him. Even if I did… his mom wouldn't allow it. She wants to get rid of her past, even if it means forgetting me."

But Espio wasn't going to take this as an answer.

"But… you are his father!" he replied.

"Just because I am doesn't mean she has to see a reason in involving me in his life. For her, it's better that he not think about me and use his stepdad to forget about me. As much as I want to see him, sometimes… when I think about him at night… I come to that conclusion. And I just sit in my bed, wondering why everything in my life crumbled. And all I have to do is wake up in the morning and look at the mirror in my cell, and I have my answer."

The more Espio heard about Smithy and his estranged son, the more it pained him to hear about how much it hurt the lion. Perhaps it was his own father's death that made him more emotionally connected to the two. Whatever the case may be…

"How do you feel… about him?" Espio added. Smithy looked at the chameleon, almost like the question he asked was one he had never heard before.

"How do I feel about him? Well… when I first learned about him, I was in utter shock. I never thought the day would come where a child would be a part of my life. But I'm as much responsible for creating him as all the things I did during my life of crime. And while I can't wash away my sins of the past, the best thing I can do is open up a dialogue with him. Show him that I'm not some kinda criminal mastermind, but that… I can be as loving as his stepdad or his mom. To show that I'm not a fuckup of a dad. After all… I've done this for years and years, being there for some. Now it's time I put this to actual practice when I get out of here. Which… Gaia only knows when."

The lion wiped his mouth. "You mentioned it last week. A dead dad, no?"

Espio nodded.

"I couldn't imagine. I won't lie… after you left on Friday, I… I thought about you. Though your dad died, you still lived life to its fullest. You left your home in Yurashia, you came to the United Federation, and while you fucked up on the way, you're making your amends, and you even managed to fall in love too. You have just as much of a journey as I have, and…"

Smithy reached over and put his hand on Espio's shoulder.

"I'm gonna see it until the end. Don't disappoint me now, son. Next time we meet, you absolutely PROMISE you're gonna tell me that you told Vector, right?"

Espio's face softly warmed up as he truly felt like he was talking to his own father now. He nodded once again.

"Yes, I promise!"


Two days.

As Espio returned back from community service, with the protestors from all week thankfully being gone for the night, he stood in front of the calendar at the dorm.

Valentine's Day, this Sunday.

Espio cursed to himself, remembering that he had community service again that night. Although thankfully, he got off earlier than Saturday nights. Still, if he didn't get off early, then his plan to confess to Vector would fail.

This was it. In two days, he told himself he would no longer be bound by the chains of anxiety. He would no longer accept a fate where he would never tell Vector about how he felt. This was to be his goal.

In his hands, Espio held both one of his omamori and the magatama necklace, looking up at the ceiling. As he closed his eyes, he put the omamori over his neck and put his hands together. The magatama necklace hung over his right wrist as he began to chant to himself a prayer, the goddess Benzaiten appearing in his mind as he dedicated this prayer to her, goddess of all flowing things on the planet. He prayed his chant to her, in the hopes that through the shrines back in the Historic District, she would hear his prayer and grant him protection in his greatest hour, and to bring the conclusion he desired with the man he fell in love with…

"Kan-ji-zai-bo-satsu

Gyo-jin-ha-nya-hara-mita-ji

Sho-ken-go-on-kai-ku

Do-issai-ku-yaku…"


TO BE CONTINUED...