Edited to fix typos and add/remove some lines
JC silently sat in the drama club, silently thinking about what had happened since he arrived, only wanting to remember specific things, remembering the 701 boys, Legoshi included, giving their non-biased opinion on the 1st issue of his 'Armoured Warrior Beetron' manga he managed to publish, just after the incident during the 2nd Adler performance, how he accidentally stumbled onto Louis and Haru's little secret and swearing not to tell anyone, and how he literally ran into and fell for a pretty brown furred grey wolf whom he didn't manage to get the name of, he blushed at that thought before remembering what he witnessed two nights ago,
JC silently walked back to his cabin after spending some time with Voss and Collot, having gone over some class work and ideas for his 2nd manga issue, having realised that night had fallen, he paused when he heard a pair of familiar voices nearby, he glanced over and saw Legoshi and Haru speaking to each other, he remembered that the 2 of them had talked about the other a few times recently, he gently smiled as Haru and Legoshi told the other their names, he silently continued on, wondering where how far this little exchange would go.
Since that day, Legoshi, whom JC admitted to having seen the exchange, had been telling him his feelings towards her, JC had even lent Legoshi some books on small animal communication that he brought earlier that year to try and get to know all the creatures of Cherryton better.
JC looked up suddenly as Sanu announced to the class the arrival of a new member to the club, he stared as the grey wolf from before walked in, he stared, stunned at this before turning away, occupying himself with a sketch as she introduced herself as Juno, a freshman student, JC half turned as Sanu introduced her to all present students, hoping that he would skip over him so that things wouldn't be awkward,
"and up there, we have Kai, and JC as well" Sanu said, JC jumping slightly, messing up a line of the sketch as Kai and Legoshi greeted Juno, JC could feel a few pairs of eyes on him, thinking that he wouldn't be able to avoid this
"is he, always like that" he heard Juno ask,
"not always" replied Aoba, a bald eagle "but, truthfully, he was a bit worse when he joined, timid as a mouse and as quiet as one"
"we think he's shy when he meets anyone new" Shelia explained "he'll probably warm up to you soon"
"i think I've seen him before" Juno said "but I'm not sure where"
'her name is Juno, huh, I'll remember this for later'
JC stared down at the incomplete sketch, unable to concentrate properly, he listened as Sheila mentioned Legoshi indirectly
"i need some air" JC said suddenly, putting his sketchpad away, grabbing his satchel bag, sliding down the ladder and heading out the door, passing Juno as he went, she watched him leave, thinking that she did something wrong,
"well, that was different" Kai said, sounding surprised, Juno glanced towards at him before looking back at the door.
JC quickly changed into his regular uniform and left the club building, he needed a quiet place to gather his thoughts,
'OK, let me think, the auditoriums are out from the increased security, I don't want to head back to my cabin yet, anyway, I'm too easily found there'
he groaned before looking towards the roof of the building extension closest to the club buildings
'of course, the one place where it is quiet and tranquil, along with the fact that hardly anyone goes up there, well apart from-'
JC stopped his train of thought, pausing near the corner of the building, remembering a recent incident up there.
JC stepped into the gardening club and inhaled the fresh air, he looked over the various gardens before heading to a bed on the other side of the club room, as he was walking past it, he paused, hearing gentle moans from within, he recognised Haru's voice, but couldn't place the other, he shook his head and sat down on some platforms where potted plants where placed and silently worked on a sketch of one of the lycan creatures for his manga, some time after, he heard the door of the club room open, he glanced up and spotted Louis coming out, JC also noticed him carrying the newspaper detailing what had happened at the Alder performance the previous day, he returned to his sketch,
"JC? Why are you here?" JC glanced up again, seeing Louis looking directly at him, and, judging by the look of panic on his face, figured that he had to pass close by the club room, and had potentially had heard them,
"relax Louis" JC replied, putting down his sketch pad "no one is going to find out about your secret rendezvous with Haru from me, you know I'm not the type of guy to blurt out that sort of secret" he saw Louis' face relax when he said this "i only come here for the tranquillity this place provides, and before you ask, no, I don't, I respect Haru as a woman, nothing lesser then that, and besides, I'm not ready for something as…...deep as that" Louis looked JC in the eye for a bit before turning to leave,
"your noble JC, maybe even to a fault, I respect that" Louis said before he left, JC stared before glancing at Haru, who looked slightly worried and embarrassed, but calm, having heard what JC said, she silently approached him.
JC slowly pushed open the door to the gardening club and glanced around, seeing Haru tending to a few flowers, he saw her smile as he approached, she stood and turned,
"hey JC, I thought you had drama club?" she said as he approached her,
"i needed to get away for a bit" JC replied, crouching to speak to her properly "there's a new student there, and…..i get flustered if I look at her or even if I'm near her"
"i see" Haru said, turning back to the flowers "do you like her or something"
"yes, I dunno, maybe, not sure" Haru giggled gently
"it's OK if you don't know straight away" she said "but it sounds like you have a crush on her"
"i-i-i guess so" Haru giggled more
"you know, the more I talk to you, the more I compare you to Legoshi" she added with a smile
"thinking of seeing him again?" JC asked her, handing her a trowel that was out of her reach, she didn't take it at first as she looked him in the eye "i saw you two together a few nights ago, Legoshi already knows that I know" he gently took her hand in both of his "from what he's been saying to me, it sounds like you have someone else who'll treat you as a woman, or at least try too" he gave a gentle smile and let her hand go, she looked at the trowel in her hand before placing it down, and surprising JC with a hug, he wordlessly returned it, neither of them hearing the door of the gardening club opening.
"i figured I'd find you here" the 2 of them broke the hug and looked towards Louis who approached them "you left in a hurry JC" he added as JC stood to face him "I'm guessing that our new member rubbed you in a way that you have no experience in?" JC stared at him for a moment before sighing and walking to the side of the club room, leaning against one of the exterior walls
"like you wouldn't believe Louis" he said "but I know such a beautiful creature like her wouldn't be interested in one like me"
"that's not true JC" he turned to face Haru, who looked up at him "any girl you'd want to be with would be lucky to be loved by a unique creature like you, because of who you are" he looked at her, but what she next shocked him and surprised Louis a bit "and to be honest, I'd even give up my negative reputation to be with you"
JC silently stared at Haru as she said this, trying to process what she said "be that as it may" said Louis, snapping JC out of his thought "i need to ask, you know about the upcoming drama club meeting?"
"the one for sophomores?"
"yes, Sanu has asked for you to attend" JC stared for a moment "I'm not sure of the reason, but he wants you there to either way" JC silently nodded
"I'll be there" he replied, curious about why his presence was wanted,
"I'm sure that it's nothing to bad" Haru said, trying to make JC feel better "and in regards to why you came here, if you can't win the heart of this other girl" she gave him a sly grin "you still have me to fall back on" JC blushed at this while it elicited a small chuckle from Louis
"y-y-you know I don't want to do that to you Haru"
"i know, I was just teasing" Haru gently took his hand "but I am here if you want to talk about it" the two of them looked at each other silently, only looking away when Louis cleared his throat
"i think we should return to our dorms, it's getting late" he said before turning to leave, Haru gave JC a sweet smile before following Louis, he hesitated for a moment, glancing around the gardens, remembering what she had said, he gave a smile before following them out.
JC shielded his eyes with his hat as he, Bill, Tao, Aoba and Legoshi ascended the stairs of the train station, finding themselves in a bustling square of the city, he looked around in awe, this being the first time he stepped foot into a city outside of a school in his whole life that he was able to remember, he quickly pulled out his phone and started snapping pictures of the various building for reference,
"so, JC" Bill started saying as he wrapped an arm around him "what do you think about our local city?"
"much more then I imagined" JC admitted
"would you look at that" said Aoba whom was looking skywards, JC followed his gaze "all the birds are flying, so jealous" he added as a bird person, that looked like a golden eagle, flew overhead,
"that's right" said Tao, realising what Aoba was saying "your only able to get a flyers licence after graduation" JC glanced at Aoba before pulling out a notepad, jotting down some notes
"I'm guessing that Aoba's jealousy for being unable to fly is new inspiration for you?" Bill questioned, sounding a little bitter as Aoba glanced at him,
"yeah" JC replied "I'm basing most of the lycan motivations after what could drive them to destruction, for the character I based on you Bill, it was the inner fury that the character had towards the star of the theatre production that drove him to that point, while at the same time, pinning it on a species that the lycan are more commonly created from" they all looked at Legoshi
"i was as shocked as you all were when I found out" he said casually
"yeah, going out isn't fun at all, huh?" Aoba said, looking at Legoshi who looked confused at this "your tail's wagging"
"hey, lets get moving" Bill called out from a short distance away, ahead of them was the city hall, they went in, got the details and left, Bill suggesting they go somewhere to eat before heading back, Tao suggested a fair distance away, but was actually good value,
"I'm willing to try something new" JC admitted as they passed by a manga store, JC pausing as he saw a life-size statue of Beetron, from the gleaming bronze armour segments, and underbelly detailing on the chest, to the beetle figurine on the belt and beetle horn attachments on both arms,
"wow, better then I envisioned it" he said as he stared, the store keeper, a young looking raccoon, approached him
"one of our customers made that for the store" he said as JC looked at him, the other guys watching from a short distance, muttering to themselves "he scrutinised every page of the manga for every detail and came up with this"
"looks incredible" JC said "he must be an uber fan to do all that, and from what I know, it hasn't been our that long" the shop keeper chuckled,
"you'd be surprised how many flock to anything like that" JC nodded
"maybe, but I have a store to run" the shop keeper said as he went back inside, JC smiled, stopped recording and joined the others
"I'm guessing you told him that you wrote the manga" Tao said
"i doubt it, JC isn't the type to brag" Aoba argued
"i didn't" JC said as they resumed their walk.
Afterwards, the 5 of them arrived and ordered while going over the details of the Festival of the Meteor that Cherryton was apart of this year
"it's the same details as last year" Legoshi said as he put down the papers
"i don't mind" said Aoba "we got to go out" at that point, Tao urged Bill to finish a story of his sex life to the others, JC ignored this, focusing on sketching an inter-species couple nearby, a goat and a rabbit, he noticed Legoshi glancing at them as well, knowing what he was thinking of
"so Legoshi" said Bill, getting close to him "when are you going to lose your virginity?" JC glanced at them while Legoshi looked as if he was uncomfortable "hey, I can smell that virgin stench on you for miles away, dude"
JC rolled his eyes as he put in his wireless earpieces, catching Juno's name, but ignoring it as he put on some relaxing music and resumed his sketch, after a couple of minutes, he pulled out on to hear what the guys were saying, hearing them mentioning about how they should be getting back, JC got up, tore the page of the sketch out handed it to the goat and rabbit couple,
"I'm sorry if it's inappropriate to do this, but you both looked like a picture perfect couple" he said, bowing a bit and rejoining the guys as they headed out, the sky was saturated orange from the sunset, JC snapped a photo of this before putting his phone away, the 5 of them started heading towards the station, but after a while, it seemed like they weren't getting anywhere,
"i think we're lost" Aoba said as he was struggling to get the city map up to display their location "it's this way, according to zoozle maps" he said, leading them to some stairs,
"your a bird" Tao said "use your, I dunno, magnetic sense?"
"yeah, I'm not a migratory bird" Aoba responded
"i don't think we're too far" Legoshi said
"just as long as we get back safe, then I'll be happy" JC said, getting a bit apprehensive, Tao looked at him,
"you gonna be OK?" he asked "Sanu told me to keep an eye on you" JC panted a bit as they paused by a lorry, hearing some groaning nearby, Legoshi spotting an elderly saiga antelope nearby, he squatted, about to ask for directions, before the antelope revealed his hands, JC's eyes widened, 4 fingers were missing, and each of the others were priced, he started panting harder, starting to feel sick in the stomach with each passing second,
"this is the black market" Aoba said, seeing the alleyway after the lorry moved aside, JC's eyes widened, the culminated smells of the blood within caused him to stagger and gag, unable to perceive anything properly, the memories that he tried to suppress started flooding back in flashes, the corridor, the smell of blood in the air, the taste of the vomit in his mouth as he blew chunks onto the floor, that's all he knew in that moment, right before he thought he head Aoba's voice calling out to someone, through the haze of his memories, he spotted Legoshi bolting off, straight into the black market, JC slowly staggered to his feet, his vision slowly clearing as he pulled out a handkerchief and held it over his mouth and nose,
"I'm…..I'm going after Legoshi, g-get to the station" he managed to say before following Legoshi in, ignoring Aoba's cries of protest, JC did his best to stay upright as he followed Legoshi, seeing him duck into an alley, right before a large creature wandered into the same alley, he stumbled there, only to see the creature, a panda, lifting Legoshi effortlessly
"p-put him down" JC managed to say, the panda turning, an eyebrow raising
"i need to get this wolf off the street" the panda said "you can come if you wish, but I can tell, that your fighting the urge to pass out" he walked past JC into another alley, JC following to what appeared to be a back alley clinic, the panda heading in, JC glanced around as they entered what appeared to be a simple bedroom, the panda dropping Legoshi's bag over the back of a desk chair "you can remove that cloth now, there isn't any blood scent in here, just as long as you done head through this door" he stood beside a vault door, JC removed the handkerchief and inhaled the air, it was fragrant with various plants, mainly bamboo
"got any water or anything?" JC asked, massaging his throat "i think I got sick in my mouth"
"tap's over there" the panda replied, glancing at a sink "cups are under it"
"thanks" JC looked at the panda as he opened the door and carried Legoshi in "what are you going to do with him?" he asked quickly the panda poked his head out
"I'm just going to see what sort of mental state he's in" the panda replied "if he's fine, then he's free to go with you, if not, then I'll have to administer some therapy" he explained before closing the door, JC took a long drink of water, then sat down on one of the seats, pulling out his notes, flipping through them silently, unable to hear what was going on in the next room, the silence was concerning, but if he was OK, then Legoshi would too, right?
JC laid his head on the desk and closed his eyes, next thing he knew, he felt a hard, but restrained whack to his shoulder, he shot up, seeing the panda standing there before heading to the boiling kettle, he turned and saw Legoshi sitting on a barrel in front of the small table
"Legoshi, you OK mate?"
"yeah, fine, you're the only one who came after me?"
"yeah, not sure why I did it though, adrenaline maybe" JCS eyes widened a bit
'adrenaline, is that the reason why I can suppress it some times, but cannot at other times?'
the panda silently handed them both a cup of tea with a single bamboo leaf in them
"so, you're students at Cherryton high" he said, before looking at Legoshi "all right, whats with the "I'm so miserable" look? you're a pain in the ass" he said to him, JC silently sipped his tea, the taste was unique, but something he wouldn't be having again soon, he silently listened to Legoshi and the panda talked as he did, not even reacting as their words slowly got more aggressive.
"and what about you fearless?" he asked JC "whats your story? Why do you feel sick whenever blood is involved, directly or not?" JC quivered at this, but didn't answer "ah, PTSD, that's fine, I'm guessing your in counselling for it" JC stared at him for a bit,
"lets go Legoshi" JC said, wanting to leave quickly,
Legoshi grabbed his bag, JC standing to follow, the panda going on about teenagers, and Legoshi admitting having never been in a relationship, which seemed to shock the panda somewhat, both of them started to leave
"wait" they turned, seeing the panda with a magazine of some kind "try this and see for yourself" both Legoshi and JC's eyes widened, seeing the bunny porno magazine "hey, this is serious business" he explained "if you get aroused by looking at this magazine, your just a kid with a particular fetish, but if you don't respond to it at all, you're still fixated on that one rabbit, you've got a problem" he then turned to JC "for your trip back through the black market, wear this" he handed him a surgical mask "it's been treated in such a way that scents cannot get in, with this over your face, and you'll get through without having another episode" JC took the mask and pulled it on, the fragrance within was bamboo, but he couldn't smell anything else, not even Legoshi's scent from close by.
After a while, the 2 of them were on their way to the station
"why didn't you tell me you had PTSD?" Legoshi questioned, JC turning away, removing the mask to breathe properly,
"I'm not ready to tell anyone what I saw" JC said, shivering "the memory is burnt into my brain, like a tattoo, no matter what I try to get rid of it, the scent of blood, or the mention of mutilation causes it to resurface" Legoshi looked at JC before remembering the final words the panda had said before they left, Legoshi getting a bit furious, he started running towards the station, JC right behind him, the rain slowly falling, it felt as if it was washing away the filth that JC had picked up from being in the black market, the reached the entrance to the station, seeing Aoba waiting for them, JC walked right past him as he and Legoshi forgave each other, JC wanting to get back to his cabin quickly, take the pills, get to bed, and forget everything that happened that night, his hands still trembling somewhat.