Several days have passed at Cherryton as students were getting more and more used to the start of their new school year. An aura of calmness and positivity was in the air, seemingly everyone forgot about the horrific events of last year involving a student getting devoured in school. The passage of time made everyone numb to the shock and fear that was present during the time of that devouring. Maybe a new sense of hope was instilled after seeing how even powerful crime organizations can fall. Maybe it was the fact that despite the problems in their society, they found happiness in meaningful relationships between each other? For Keanu though, it was the severe cocaine abuse.
Blissful ignorance washed over Keanu though, not knowing the damage, risk and general social norms that come with cocaine, he felt completely euphoric. He sat in his dorm room after class, enjoying a cigarette when he heard a knock on the door. Keanu's head bolted towards the door. He put his cigarette out and opened the window to get some air in, getting up to open the door. He opened the door to see Legoshi standing in the doorway.
-"You uhh...got a minute?" Legoshi asked.
-"Yeah, come in." Keanu invited. Legoshi quickly went inside Keanu's room and paced around a bit. Keanu closed the door and looked at him. "What, you gotta take a piss?" Keanu asked.
-"No, no it's just... a lot's been happening. That's why I came here. I needed someone level-headed to discuss this with." Legoshi explained, still pacing around the room. Keanu raised an eyebrow.
-"Level headed? You could just say that Gouhin was too far away." Keanu chuckled.
-"Yeah, that too. Can we sit down and talk?" Legoshi asked, fidgeting with his hands.
-"Let me make some tea first. You look like you could zen out a bit." Keanu spoke, throwing some water into a pot and setting it to boil.
-"Tea? Since when do you drink tea?" Legoshi asked, sitting down on one of the armchairs in the room.
-"I've gone onto healthier living my brother. Tea's good for the mind, body and soul." Keanu advertised.
-"I can see that. You're looking...skinnier. Maybe too skinny?" Legoshi noticed.
-"I can still knock you down a peg if you feel like you're stronger." Keanu cut back. Legoshi was silent. Keanu poured tea into two cups and handed one to Legoshi, sitting across from him.
-"Man, drinking tea, sitting in an armchair across from you. Feels like I'm back at Gouhin's." Legoshi reminisced.
-"Well go on then, what'd you need to talk about?" Keanu asked, crossing his legs.
-"First off, Louis came back to school after he ghosted everyone and was presumed missing for two months." Legoshi told.
-"He was missing? Jesus, well does he look ok?" Keanu asked, a bit concerned.
-"Yeah he was fine. That wasn't the strangest part though. He gave a permission slip to the drama club leader that he was on indefinite leave. Said some things about how he tried to change the world through here... but he saw that was pointless and that he needed to take it into his own hands." Legoshi explained.
-"Huh... Well that's... Huh..." Keanu was dumbfounded.
-"Yeah I'm just as confused as you. While all that's going on, Haru wants to meet with me only at that staircase where animals rarely pass through, as if she's embarrassed to be seen around me." Legoshi confided.
-"Ah Haru's like that. She ain't embarrassed she's just... well... Haru. It's new to her, give her some time." Keanu tried to explain.
-"Oh and even worse, everyone still thinks we slept together that night when we were coming back from your apartment." Legoshi went on further.
-"Wait, you didn't!?" Keanu spat out his tea in shock. "How!?"
-"Well I was trying to but... She tried to climb inside my mouth for me to eat her." Legoshi quietly explained.
The room was dead silent for a few moments. Legoshi was staring at the floor in a mix of shame and guilt. He looked up to see Keanu staring at him with a blank expression on his face. He stared for a couple of seconds before he covered his mouth to suppress his laughter. Legoshi sighed.
-"Go on, I know you want to." Legoshi allowed, running his hand down his face in disappointment. He could barely finish the sentence before Keanu started audibly wheezing with laughter. Legoshi just stared at him while Keanu was on the verge of tears.
-"How the fuck does that even happen!?" Keanu cried out between laughing and catching his breath.
-"I don't know! I guess she somehow sensed my predatory instinct while we were getting intimate!?" Legoshi cried out in confusion, prompting Keanu to laugh even more.
-"Man you've gotta be the most unlucky son of a bitch I know! You...Ahahahahaha, you go out and save a girl and you don't even get a handjob from her!?" Keanu shrieked with laughter, hitting the coffee table with his fist.
-"It's not about that..." Legoshi groaned. "I don't want to do anything with her I just... I just want to hold her, to make sure she's safe, I want to protect her..." Legoshi solemnly explained. Keanu's laughter slowly died down. He cleared his throat
-"Okay... Okay... Look I'm not sure why that happened but Gouhin's certainly got an explanation. I mean how come you couldn't even get to second base with Haru when I-" Keanu stopped himself. Legoshi glanced at him. "Y'know what, never mind, let's drop it."
-"And, to top it all off. I'm searching for Tem's killer." Legoshi finished. Keanu raised an eyebrow.
-"Tem's killer? Shit, Tem... You mean they never caught the guy?" Keanu asked, remembering his fallen schoolmate.
-"No, they never did. I feel like it's my obligation. Tem's soul needs to find peace and it can't do that with the killer still on the loose." Legoshi vowed.
-"Yeah but... Come on now that's a killer you're hunting. You could be in real danger." Keanu worried.
-"So I wasn't in real danger when I attacked the Shishigumi?" Legoshi retaliated.
-"Are you choosing to ignore that if it wasn't for me and Gouhin you'd be hung by your neck on the entrance to their safe house right now!?" Keanu growled angrily.
-"I didn't care if I died then, I don't care if I die now! All that matters is tha-" Legoshi yelled.
-"Shut the fuck up!" Keanu yelled, slamming his fist against the table, cutting off. Legoshi was silent. Keanu breathed in and out. "You wanna go hunting a killer? Go ahead. But know one thing. That's a killer, and you ain't, boy. When shit hit the fan you bit the shoulder and not the neck. And when shit hits the fan with confronting the killer, you're gonna do the same. But guess what? He ain't gonna be so merciful. You think he had mercy towards Tem? You will perish, and I won't be there to save you." Keanu explained, his breath shaking a bit. The room was filled with silence for a few moments, Keanu leaned back in his armchair, his breathing a bit strained due to screaming and stressing himself out.
-"What if he attacks Haru?" Legoshi asked, breaking the silence. Keanu looked up at him, not saying a word.
-"I don't know..." Keanu softly spoke. Legoshi sighed.
-"I'm leaving. Thanks for hearing me out." Legoshi thanked, leaving the room. As he was leaving Keanu spoke.
-"Legoshi." Keanu called
-"Yeah?" Legoshi answered.
-"I saw some Shishigumi cats moving around the school area. We didn't kill them all." Keanu softly warned, not raising his head from the tea he was staring at the entire time.
-"I'll add it to my list of worries." Legoshi said, closing the door and leaving.
Keanu stared at the table for a while. His head was filled with thoughts, none of them coming to light completely clearly. It was a jumbled mess, like trying to form a sentence out of alphabet soup. While being set on fucking fire. Eventually he took a deep breath and sighed.
-"Fuck..." Keanu muttered, reaching into his pocket. He pulled out a small bag of white powder, spilling it onto his cellphone and shaping it into lines with his credit card.
As tensions instantly rise, what events will transpire throughout this new school year?