Edited to fix typos and add/remove some lines
JC wandered the red light district streets silently, glancing over at porn shops and strip clubs amongst other places common here, he was slowly getting frustrated, the first love hotel he stopped at told him that they didn't accept mixed species couples there, this disheartened him but gave him a major clue, he paused near a crossroad street, looking up both roads, seeing love hotels on both sides, he groaned silently, not seeing a figure approaching him,
"looking for a good time cutie?" the female voice surprised JC, but he looked at the speaker, a sexy carcal who looked around his age,
"uh, well" JC started, blushing a bit "i-i am looking for something, but….."
"it's OK" she said with a smile "I'll make your first time a great time"
"look, I don't have time for this, nor am I ready for something like this" she looked up at him before stepping back,
"o-oh, I'm sorry" she said,
"so am i" JC said, looking her in the eye "it's been a hard, stressful night, and I'm worried for my friends"
"friends with benefits?"
"more like classmates, who, I hope, are alright" her eyes widened a bit
"why would you be worried about that?"
"one's a herbivore who disappeared earlier today, and the other went off to try and find them, I tracked them from the black market, to the underground restaurant row, to here" he sighed heavily "I'm just worried about their well-being"
"whats your name?" JC looked down at her
"huh?"
"i asked, whats your name, i-I'm Harmony"
"JC"
"well, JC, being in my line of work, I've seen many creatures pass through here, if you tell me what your looking for, I might be able to point you in the right direction" JC looked at Harmony for a moment,
"i guess it can't hurt" he said "I'm looking for a male grey wolf and a female dwarf rabbit, the rabbit is wearing a top that would belong to the wolf, for reasons I don't know yet, and the wolf might or might not have some blood stains on his fur" Harmony stared back silently before glancing around
"yes, I think I saw a couple matching that description a short while ago" she pointed up one street "they headed that way, there's a love hotel up there that allows mixed species couples, it's called "Hotel Rose" I go there often with my pick-ups"
"i see, thank you Harmony" JC said, pulling some money out "here" she stared
"wha-? I can't take that" she said "i only take money from my pick-ups"
"i want you to take it, you helped me tonight, and I want to make sure your reimbursed" she timidly took the money,
"Th-thanks JC" she looked at him "you're really kind, not many of my "clients" are" JC smiled and turned to walk away, being surprised when Harmony kissed his cheek "i wish you luck, hope I see you again, friend" she walked away, JC turned back to watch her go, gingerly touching the spot where she had kissed, he gave a gentle smile and headed down the street she pointed at, after a few minutes of walking, he paused in front of the hotel he was looking for,
'hopefully they'll allow me up to find them, besides, I could do with some sleep'
JC silently stepped in, a slender black cat was at the check-in desk, he approached her silently
"welcome to Hotel Rose" she said cheerfully with a hint of fatigue, JC noted this
"long, rough day I take it?" he asked politely
"like you wouldn't believe" she glanced around "no partner? Or are you checking in now and someone joining you later?"
"actually, I'm looking for some friends who arrived here not to long ago" her eyes widened a bit
"i see" she frowned gently "what was the name under?"
"no idea, only just found out they were here" she looked at him again
"let me guess, jealous boyfriend, or husband to catch a cheater?"
"neither, just someone concerned for the well-being for the two of them" she glanced around and sighed gently
"I'm only doing this because I'm tired, and am about to clock-off, who were you looking for"
"a white dwarf rabbit, and a grey wolf, the rabbit is in a top that would fit the wolf, and the wolf might have some bloodstains on him" she stared, her eyes widening before turning to the computer
"yes, we had a couple matching that description arrive not too long ago" she looked up the information, relayed it to JC, but when she looked up to tell him how much it would be to add him to the room, he was already gone, she sighed before noticing the money on the counter, a note saying "i hope this will cover me in the same room" she stared at the stairs, then checked the money, there was 50% more then needed, she gave a smile, before yawning gently.
JC reached the room door and hesitated, not sure how'd they react to him being there, he knocked and waited, the door opened slowly at first, but then flew opened as he was tackled by something small, JC looked down, seeing Haru hugging his waist, JC panted gently, looking in to see Legoshi approaching, only in his pants, seeing some dark spots in his fur, the look of relief washed over JC's face as he managed to get into the room,
"I'm glad you both are OK, I was so worried" he managed to say
"how'd you find us" Haru asked him, tending to an undershirt of Legoshi's, JC saw the blood on it
"yeah, and why are you here?" Legoshi added, JC looked at them both,
"i came to find you both" they stared at him "you two are the most important things in the world to me, if anything happened to either of you, I…...i don't know what, but, I'd probably be back to how I was before I met you both, reclusive…."
"i didn't realise you cared for both of us that much" Legoshi said, JC looked at him
"of course, Haru was the first new friend I ever made here, and you, Legoshi, we're pretty much the same in a few aspects"
"he's right Legoshi" Haru said, looking up at the both of them "i often compare you both and wonder if your the same person inhabiting to unique bodies" this got a small chuckle from JC
"thanks Haru, but yeah, I was lucky to find you both here, but I did have some help along the way" JC said, going on to tell them about Harmony, the pelican who served him, and the panda from the black market, this caused Legoshi's eyes to widen
"wait, you got through the black market without having another episode?" he asked, Haru looked up at him
"episode?"
"he has PTSD, the last time it triggered, we were in the black market, a place were carnivores go to get meat" Haru looked at JC and gently hugged him
"why didn't you tell be when we met that you had PTSD" JC looked down at her
"because I didn't have it at the time" he said, both Legoshi and Haru looked up at him, neither expected that answer, but both knew what was coming, JC sighed gently and started telling them what happened.
JC silently looked down at his class schedule for that day
'OK, looks like biology is first up this morning, not very good at it, but Jack has been helping me a fair bit, in fact, I've been getting help from several others recently, didn't expect them to be so welcoming, well except for….hm?"
he paused near some lecture hall doors, they looked like they were busted open, he frowned and approached them slowly, he knew that he wasn't allowed into the class rooms until 10 minutes before start of class, but he needed to see if someone needed help, he slowly pushed the door open,
"hello, is anyone in here?" he called, looking around, oddly, the projector was running, he frowned, then an odd smell hit his nose, something familiar, but he couldn't place it, he stepped in a bit more looking around, he stopped dead when he saw the remains of someone on the stage, he stared getting queasy every second, in his mind he pictured some ravenous, shadowy figure tearing them apart, he fell to his knees, panting hard, not hearing the doors opening behind him, nor the sounds of whoever it was speaking to him, next thing he knew, he was vomiting over the floor, that combined with the scent of the blood in the air with the remains on the stage was all he knew before darkness overtook him.
JC woke suddenly and violently, panting hard, the infirmary nurse quickly came over
"are you OK JC?" she asked him, he looked up at her "take it easy"
"who-"
"I'm the nurse here at Cherryton"
"who….was…."
"oh" she looked a bit solemn "it was Tem the alpaca" JC's eyes widened a bit, he started panting more, his hands quivering before they were grasped by the nurse "calm yourself JC, it's OK, the whole school is looking for…." she paused, not wanting to say anymore, JC panted gently, looking her in the eye
"i-i understand, i-i-i just want to forget all this" she nodded silently
"sounds like you have PTSD" the barn owl counsellor said, JC telling him about the nightmares he was having, preventing him from sleeping "your lucky you have a friend like that Labrador"
"yeah, one of my closest friends" JC said, drinking some water to stay awake
"i know of a temporary cure for your nightmares, but it's only a temporary solution, but I don't want you to rely on them" the counsellor said, writing something on some paper "I'll help you back to your cabin, I'll get your friend to grab these for you"
"adrenaline you say? Interesting"
"yeah, it's weird" JC said, recounting the black market events from the previous night "i felt an urge to go after Legoshi, make sure he was alright, nothing else mattered"
"hmm, sounds like your extremely loyal to your friends, maybe that is the solution to your PTSD, maybe if you focus on helping and protecting your friends, then maybe you can remove the triggers all together"
"i hope so, I feel so drained today because of it"
JC opened his eyes and looked at Legoshi and Haru, they stared for a moment before they gently hugged him, comforting him, JC's eyes welled up, a tear rolling down his cheek
"thanks guys" he managed to say, close to breaking down,
"hey, no tears" Haru told him
"i-I'll try" JC silently replied, darkness slowly overpowering him as he passed out.
JC groaned as he woke, finding himself between Legoshi, who had his back to him, and Haru, who was gently hugging his arm, most probably for comforting him then anything, gently smiled and eased his arm out of her grip, silently getting up and checking the time on his phone, it was nearly 7am, his eyes widened, before gently shaking Legoshi and Haru awake,
"Legoshi, Haru, wake up, we need to get back to the school" he said as Haru slowly woke first,
"what time is it?" she asked with a gentle groan
"nearly 7, if we hurry, we can get the first train for the day up there" JC responded as Legoshi awoke,
"so what happened when I passed out?" JC asked as they made their way to the station,
"not too much" Legoshi responded "i laid you down, me and Haru…...discussed things that happened in the room before you arrived, nothing too much, and we laid down to sleep, took me a while"
"same with me" Haru said "i didn't fall asleep quickly either"
"well, you'd both better brace yourselves for the lecture you both might be getting when we get there, I might have to as well" JC said "but, I think you both need a pit-stop at the infirmary, so that the nurse can look you both over, the blood on Legoshi was no joke, and I meant what I said last night"
"we know" Legoshi said "you coming to find us was evidence of that" JC smiled silently at the two, looking up at the gates of Cherryton as they headed in.
a short while later, JC stood outside the infirmary, he and Haru being dismissed earlier after a brief checkup, but Legoshi being told to wait so that he could rest, listening to the housemother chewing him out about being out of school, all night, with a herbivore female student, not letting him get a word in edgewise about the reason, he had just heard the word, or name he heard earlier as Juno approached, he sighed and turned to leave,
"wait JC" he turned to look at her "i heard that you went after Legoshi last night, why would you risk your own safety for his?" he turned to face her
"because, I care about my friends, I'd do anything to make sure they're safe, I'd even die to make sure they'll be breathing tomorrow" this comment caught Juno off guard for a moment, JC sighed and turned away again "I've got some work to catch up on Juno, we'll talk later, if your lucky" he started walking away
"thanks for making sure he was OK" Juno said, before heading into the infirmary, JC not even taking note of this comment, he just kept walking, almost blind to where he was going, finding himself in a familiar place, a place he was avoiding for a long while, he stepped forwards, paused and fell to his knees before Tem's picture, right in front of where he was devoured, he stared, despite the 2 only knowing each other a few days, Tem was one of the few of the drama club who was very welcoming to him, he stared at the photo that served as a memorial, not holding back the tears as they flowed out, he gently started sobbing, not realising that he wasn't alone,
"JC?" he slowly turned in surprise to see who it was, seeing Els behind him, holding a bouquet of flowers, she slowly stepped over to and kneeled next to him, placing the flowers next to the photo "i didn't think I'd see you here, or even see you cry, I always thought you were suppressing your emotions, that your species didn't know anything about empathy" JC wiped his eyes,
"Els, the real reason, is much more….dark" JC managed to say, slowly standing "but, I feel that you need to know, but not just you, but everyone in the drama club, those closest to Tem" her eyes widened and stood with him
"I'll let everyone in the club know "
"not Legoshi, he already knows, I've already told him" she nodded and headed off, JC looked at the photo again
'I'm sorry Tem, I wish I was there earlier, but then again, I might've been a side dish to whoever did this too you'
JC silently kneeled in-front of the whole drama club, Els had gotten everyone there, except for Legoshi, as per his request, and Louis, oddly enough, he inhaled and sighed gently, remembering that Juno told him that he was missing since yesterday,
"thanks for coming everyone" he managed to say "i have something to tell you all, concerning Tem's murder" everyone glanced at each-other, looking concerned or worried, he waited for them to calm down before repeating what he had told Legoshi and Haru the night before, everyone silently listened in shock, hearing why he avoided the subject, why he reacted negatively to bloodshed, and why he passed out the night of the first Adler performance, the room was completely silent when JC finished speaking, he felt all eyes on him, but he couldn't raise his head to look back,
"i never realised that you had that weighing on your conscience" JC looked at Juno silently "finding the body of a classmate like you did, would negatively impact you, I see now"
"I'm guessing that's the reason for your PTSD?" Tao asked, JC gently nodded
"i couldn't tell anyone without triggering an episode" JC said "they also caused me to have nightmares, of me coming in here and seeing" he paused and looked at them "all of you in a similar state, then being attacked, by some random, shapeless predator"
"just be glad that it was only a nightmare" Sanu said, gently patting his shoulder "but you don't need to worry about any of that really happened" JC gently smiled
"thank you, and thank you everyone, for taking the time out of preparing for tonight just to listen" JC said, they all started getting up to leave, JC stayed kneeling, Juno, Sheila and Els noticed this
"do you think he's really OK?" Sheila questioned
"I'm not sure" Els responded "he might've had the courage to speak out like that, but I feel like he's still hurting inside" JC slowly stood and walked out of the club room silently, looking a bit haunted, Juno stared as he left.
"thanks for the help Riz, I didn't realise that I made the box that heavy"
"don't worry about it" the large brown bear said with an equally large smile "happy to help out, the sketches you made for tonight will be a hit" JC smiled gently as Riz placed the box on the table he was setting up on,
"maybe I made a bit more then I was hoping for" JC replied with a chuckle, Riz joining in on it for a moment
"listen, JC, if you need to talk to anyone about Tem and what you saw, I'm always there" he said, JC stared at him, it wasn't odd that Riz was the helpful type, but it almost seemed like he was trying to hide something,
"I'll consider it, big guy, thanks for the offer" he said, tossing him a squeeze bottle of honey
"thanks JC" Riz said as he walked away, pocketing the bottle, JC silently watched him and shrugged before unpacking the protective folders of sketches before placing a couple of sample folders on the table in-front of him, having a while before the festival officially started, JC wandered over to the flower stall, seeing Haru tend to them "as beautiful as ever" he said, Haru looking up at him "so are the flowers" the two laughed gently as JC kneeled "you feeling alright after what had happened?" he asked her
"yeah" Haru said "word about me and Legoshi spending the night together has spread like wildfire, no mention of you anywhere in it though" JC nodded
"only because they don't know the whole story" he said, sitting down to talk to her until the festival started "whelp, show time" JC said and stood to go to his stall, managing to sell several pictures right until the performance of the drama club, JC put a "back in 10 minutes" sign on the table and walked over to watch, stopping dead when he saw Juno dancing her heart out in a stunning red dress, it felt like he was rooted on the spot, watching the way her body moved to the music, it was almost hypnotic, the only thing that snapped him out of his trance was her introduction of Legoshi, he sighed gently and walked back to the stall, pausing as he noticed Haru in the crowd as Legoshi was dragged to the stage.
JC silently watched the rest of the night, seeing Juno taking Legoshi into the dome, right before he left and followed Haru up to an outlook at the top of the nearby cliff, he watched as Juno stared at the dome, looking rejected, JC put the sign on the table and approached her silently, he stood behind her and looked up at it as well,
"tough night, huh?" she turned to look at him "I'm guessing he got cold feet and ran out on you?" Juno glanced downwards
"yeah" she managed to say as JC stepped up to her
"you know, growing up, I was taught that I'd never be accepted by any of you, that I'd be treated as a freak of nature, but now, I realise that the claim was false" Juno silently looked up at him "there were times that it was close to happening, but never did, many, many times, shaped me into the being I am now, I wish I could say with utmost certainty that I know what your going through Juno, but I'd be lying" the two stood together for a moment before Juno turned and walked away "if you want to talk about anything Juno, just come find me, you know where my cabin is" he watched her walk away before heading back to the stall.
'it's easy to feel sorry for her, being rejected by your crush, I guess that's why I never properly confessed to her, fear of rejection is powerful and hurtful'
JC looked back at the dome as he reached the stall
'a lot has happened and it's hardly mid-year, still have a bit to do before then'
he glanced at the flower stall silently
'but still, many questions linger in my mind, will Legoshi and Haru get along perfectly, will I be able to confess my feelings properly to Juno, who murdered and devoured Tem, and who, or what is this…...Shishigumi?'
his expression slowly darkened, a rage welling up inside him.