Another day another chapter, I can soundly say we've passed the introduction phase. Now I can really push the storylines I'm trying to set up in the coming chapters. It's kind of exciting! Please stay safe out here!

-MalMetal


CHAPTER 26: Playful

"What the hell do you think you're doing?!" Miso responded to Louis' anger with his blade to his muzzle, smiling coyly.

"It's our anniversary, the first month has gone by so I wanted to remind you of how we met. Thought I'd spice things up by throwing someone through the door this time. How do you like it?" Louis bore a grimace on his face that could kill anyone.

"It's alright boss, it's shallow." Agata sat up alleviating Ibuki's stress.

"You have no right to treat my men like this at all, who do you think you are?"

"I'm here for my money." Miso swung his sword, cutting a small piece of the deer's antlers off. He looked Louis over, scoffing as he did, and sheathed his blade. "Gimme."

"Not until you apologize." Miso lowered his head and let out a deep sigh, he made eye contact with Louis and did not take kindly to his rebellious glint. Miso landed a punch to the deer's jaw, sending him tumbling back. He gave Ibuki a side eye to ensure he stayed next to Agata.

"You owe me," Miso grabbed one of Louis' antlers to draw their faces close. "Gimme." Louis felt warm blood sting his tongue, and Ibuki shook his head at him.

"Understood." Miso gently let him go and watched as he stood to his feet. He grabbed a large amount of money from a nearby safe and then handed it off to the cheetah.

"You were worth keeping alive. So much in under a month, school has its benefits, don't it? At this rate, I might just make you my cash cow. I'm sure we can find a nice Bessie for you to enjoy if push comes to shove." Louis' eyes expressed his anger once more.

"Don't act like you've got anywhere else to go. I know everything about you, where you breathe… sleep… eat. I know everything. You ain't got nowhere to return to, and next time is the last payment. Maybe give it some real thought, eh?" Miso shook the money with a smirk before heading out. Two spotted felines about his size await him outside and the further he moves down his men sheathed their blades to follow him out. The Shishigumi's numbers had fallen from thirty-five to fifteen. An herbivore coming to power in a carnivore gang was not something all could cooperate with. Amongst those who left Sony was the first. Agata, Free, and Dolph remained because of their loyalty to Ibuki but that was all. Given current circumstances, not many were happy about Louis' rule over them. Everyone thought Ibuki should be the one to take over, but he prioritized his plan of using the deer to gain a better image for the Shishigumi more than anything.

"Boss, are you alright?" Agata asked.

"I'm fine." In truth Louis' vision was still a bit shaky, maintaining his composure he straightened his blazer. He walked out of the room to go and see how everyone was doing, coming across Free and Dolph first.

"You two are unharmed, correct?" The duo nodded. "Follow me, there's somewhere we need to go." Despite differing opinions about the deer, there was a general consensus made about him.

"He's an herbivore like no other, that's for sure." Free whispered to Dolph.

"No, there's another like him. 'Cept he's something different from herbivore and carnivore, more like a devil." Louis' ear twitched. s

"We're heading to the club we visited last week." The three got into a car outback and drove a little ways deeper into the market until they reached a building with a sign of a female on a pole. The three entered into the club illuminated by purple lights where a female feline danced to the pleasure of several adult carnivores of varying species. Some heads turned to Louis only to turn back upon seeing his face. Silently, moving past the performer's stage he walked backstage, leaving Free and Dolph to guard the entrance.

Backstage, Louis saw the woman he was looking for sitting in a long shirt in front of a mirror. She knew he was there but did not offer a greeting. He simply looked her over for a few seconds giving them a moment to feel each other for no reason at all. The adult okapi shook her head with a smirk, her eyes were a bright brown.

"I thought you were done coming back here." She said, to which Louis stared at her intently. "Are you here for pleasure or a staring contest?"

"Cosmo," Louis uttered the woman's name, he looked lost. Cosmo walked over to him, grasping his hand.

"Do you need me to be her again tonight?" Wondering to himself for a short moment certain eyes emerged from his mental haze.

"Yes."

"Until you have that strength I'll be her as many times as you want." Cosmo kissed Louis, this sensation always made him freeze up until Cosmo melted his tension. She guided him upstairs to a small bedroom. Despite forgetting his anger, he let the day's events slip away from memory. Nevertheless, one thing remains in his mind: Miso was right, this is where he belonged. Outside of the club, a short hooded figure looked at the pictures they had taken of Louis, Dolph, and Free. Nothing made sense to them as to why he was in the picture or with carnivores at all. They put away their camera and fled into the Black Market's shadows.


All long weekends come to an end as did a school day leading to club activities. The drama club was as lively as ever especially since news of a new member would be joining. Although they'd all met him, a new member so late into the semester felt refreshing. Sanu entered with Pina in toe who unsettled Riz immediately, but all the herbivore girls swooned for him.

"I don't really like him," Juno whispered to Legoshi.

"I didn't either when I first met him." Juno made a motion with her fingers to symbolize antlers which Legoshi nodded. "They've got the exact same type of energy."

"Good afternoon, as you all know my name is Pina and I'll be joining the drama club for the rest of this semester. I hope we can all get along!" Pina's cheery attitude was met with mixed reactions. The herbivores were happy but the carnivores seemed indifferent or disgruntled by his appearance.

"Hey, Mr. Sanu! Why do we have someone joining this late into the year? He's not here to replace Louis is he?" Bill asked directly.

"O-of course not! Don't be ridiculous Bill!"

"This club could use some help, couldn't it? Until this past Meteor Festival, no one could compare to Louis' popularity in the lead role. He was this club's star, and a face all loved looking at. I guess what I'm trying to say is that this club needed a new face that anyone would love and carnivores could never cut it because of how unappealing thanks to those carnal desires ruining your bodies!" Pina's words ignited rage in every carnivore there except for Riz and Legoshi who kept a straight face.

"Are you trying to say carnivores are ugly because it's far from the truth!" Juno yelled, commencing a small but heated argument to break out. Riz scooted closer to Legoshi, both sharing a similar look of disinterest.

"Considering what he did to you Saturday I thought you'd want to take a few shots at him," Legoshi said.

"Forgive and move on."

"You're used to it because Tem did it often, right?" Riz frowned having been seen through. All of a sudden Pina walked over to Legoshi, reaching for his arm. However, he swiftly backed away from the sheep.

"C'mon I was just gonna use you as an example. Show them your arm scars."

"What about them?" Bill interjected.

"A wolf with deep scars, a devoured herbivore-" Riz placed a hand on Pina's shoulder.

"That's enough don't you think? Whatever problems you've got with carnivores don't mean anything here because we're supposed to be club mates." The brown bear hardly touched Pina but the sheep could tell how angry Riz was. Legoshi could feel his subdued rage too, giving off a silent empathy.

"You really are a different group of carnivores or at least a few of you. I retract my statement. With that, I can't wait to work alongside you all!" Legoshi and Riz knew Pina's switch to be a false one. Being in the actor's pool Pina wasted no time in proving himself to be. He played Louis' role to perfection as if born for it. Just like with Louis, Bill had to admit Pina had skills after being asked by the sheep. As far as first-day impressions went, he certainly left one.

"I can't stand that asshole! If I could I'd tear him apart!" Bill crushed the can in his hand.

"You shouldn't say things like that Bill, especially not when anyone could be around!" Juno warned.

"No way, it's like we traded one Louis for another, it's dumb as hell!"

"You shouldn't get too angry," Sheila spoke while grabbing a soft drink from the vending machine. "Herbivores everywhere feel that way about us. It's normal."

"Then he can keep it to himself, you don't see carnivores talking about their hate out loud!"

"Bill!"

"I'll calm down alright? Just stop yelling at me!" Juno frowned at the tiger to which he looked away a bit embarrassed.

"Did it feel like he was goading us?" Riz questioned.

"What do you mean?" Juno asked.

"Maybe he was trying to see if we were safe to be around?" Riz shook his head at Legoshi.

"When he came to my dorm he was saying weird stuff, like "I wanted to let him in my dorm." Stuff like that. I don't know if he's trying to play some cruel joke or if he thinks this is how people should talk to one another. Either way, I don't like it." Juno placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Don't worry, I'll talk to him next time I see him."

"Thanks." Juno's attempt to reassure the bear seemingly fell on deaf ears. Legoshi stood for the bench and patted off any dirt from his pants.

"I'm gonna head out." Juno got up as well and followed him after telling anyone goodbye. Entering the school building, she got a bit closer to him.

"How are you doing?" Legoshi asked.

"I'm doing okay. My mother is still calling me almost every day to see if I'm a Beastar candidate yet."

"Sounds like she wants it more than you do."

"Doesn't it? I'm really starting to wonder if it was ever my dream to begin with."

"Why's that?"

"Because she's wanted me to become that since I was kid, especially after my sister…" Juno turned her head to the side.

"We made a promise that we would pursue what we want. It doesn't have to be that thing, it could be something else."

"I guess."

"So you want it then?" Juno's ears perked up. "It's yours if you aren't ready to just let it go. Stand firm, you've got this." Legoshi placed a hand on her head, giving her a small smile she would never forget. Quickly, she removed it before getting too absorbed in the current of emotion washing over her body. However, she held it for a moment.

"Thank you for the advice. I appreciate it." The tide turned and engulfed Legoshi, his tail started wagging of its own volition. Similarly removing his hand from her grasp he stopped his tail as he wore a look of defeat on his face. Juno chuckled a little bit before talking about less serious things. Their eyes returned to life and sparkled endlessly in each other's presence.

Jack sighed to himself as he organized and then put them away in his school bag. The classroom he sat in was empty and he was still nowhere near finishing all of it. He checked his phone once he got out into the hallway. His finger clicked a news headline about a popular carnivore actor outing himself for devouring an herbivore which twisted his stomach a little bit.

"Hm?" A distinct slithering sound could be heard overhead. It was moving fast, instinctively, he followed it around. He followed it around for a few minutes before it came to a stop in the closed-down auditorium. Jack walked past Tem's picture, and he felt his blood run cold.

"Uh… is anyone in there?"

"Why are you talking to a door?"

"Eep!" Jack quickly turned to see Pina standing there. "Um…. I heard something i-in the walls and it stopped here, so I wanted to see what it was."

"Maybe it's a ghost."

"Huh?!" Pina walked closer, observing the door.

"What else could it be? A mysterious sound leads you to the scene of a murder. Probably the alpaca's vengeful spirit trying to lure unsuspecting carnivores until he can find his killer." Pina chuckled at his own joke.

"Th-that's not funny!"

"Entertaining though," Pina said. "Anyway, it's not like we could get in there if we wanted to." The door handles didn't budge. "So let's let sleeping dogs lie, isn't that what you're taught?"

"No!"

"Yeah, sure. Come on, to make up for my rudeness I'll buy you a peanut butter treat from the vending machine." Despite Pina's disrespectful behavior, Jack couldn't turn down the offer. Before heading off, Pina heard a rattling noise that he ignored.