Hope you all enjoyed the April Fools chapter i hinted at last year, hopefully none of you are too salty about it, luckily i finished this chapter before the upload, enjoy
JC groaned as he woke, shaking his head, remembering the strange dream he had, he chuckled gently and got up, remembering that Legoshi went off yesterday to a meeting with the current Beastar, a publicly unknown creature that was named Yahya, this got him worried, since Legoshi hadn't returned the night before from said meeting, he sat by the window and gazed up at the skyscrapers of the city, remembering back to when he spotted an odd shadow darting across the rooftops, was that the "mythical" Yahya, or maybe some other nocturnal creature, he shrugged and turned to concept notepad, jotting down an idea based on all of that, he glanced back at the window before getting up, changing into his casual wear, including the new camo cargo pants and heading out,
"morning JC" he looked over at the female pigeon who owned the apartments,
"morning ma'am" he replied, never actually getting her name "has Legoshi come back yet?"
"i'm afraid not" she replied "but the police probably wouldn't do anything, they came by a few days before the little feast he hosted asking for him, thinking that he was caught up with the BB drug, either selling it or consuming it"
"not the first time he's left in the dead of night only to return some time after" JC said, telling her about when he went after Haru and when he went to Gohin for training for the first time,
"my, I never expected him to be so noble"
"no one ever does until it happens, quite unexpected"
"speaking of unexpected" she reached down and handed him a letter "this was wedged in my window this morning, it's addressed to you" JC took it from her
"thanks, must be important if it was delivered in the dead of night" he replied, opening the letter, seeing that it was an invite, his eyes instantly travelled to the bottom to see who it was from "Yahya, I figured as much" he muttered,
"is everything OK?"
"something tells me that I might disappear for a day" he looked at her "hopefully I'll be back quickly, no need to worry"
"ok, but where are you going?" she questioned, JC looking at the invite
"to lunch with with a mysterious somebody with power apparently" he said, going back inside for something.
JC stared up at the police headquarters before looking at the invite he got,
"looks like this is the place" he said as he hobbled in, his walking stick tapping the ground as he went, inside, he spoke with the receptionist, showing them the invite before he was guided to an elevator by a small army of rats,
'curiouser and curiouser, looks like Yahya use these rats as their personal staff, but it's interesting that they would take one of the smallest of all animals, there must be a history behind them'
they soon arrived at the top floor, JC's eyes widened as they laid upon the massive black stallion standing before him,
"welcome JC" he said in a voice that sounded stoic despite his stature "a pleasure to meet a unique being such as yourself,
"the pleasure is all mine Yahya" JC responded, bowing gently after exiting the lift, Yahya's eyes travelling down to his walking stick,
"i read the file about what happened, quite noble, but foolish for someone your age"
"i understand, but in order to protect the vulnerable, I'd give up my life to save theirs" Yahya smiled gently
"interesting philosophy" he said, leading JC to a table surrounded by planter boxes filled with carrots "i'm similar, in a way, I'll go out of my way to protect the vulnerable, whether the vulnerable are attacked or exploited, and I deal with it" JC frowned gently, everything that he was saying was adding up to one conclusion "but enough about that, come, sit, and lets eat" JC sat at the table and collapsed his walking stick before eating
'i saw the bones within the soil of the planters, most of them I recognise as carnivores, these carrots have a unique flavor to them, but it feels wrong, eating a byproduct of decaying flesh, but still, he must have his reasons for it'
he glanced to the side before noticing a bowel full of carnivore teeth, he frowned gently, making a mental note to ask about them a bit later,
"i know why you left Cherryton" this statement caught him off guard "but I want to hear it from you, I want to hear the reasoning within your voice for the decision" JC inhaled and sighed,
"i left because the fight for unity between carnivore and herbivore students was over while I was in the hospital, knowing that I was a Beastar candidate within the school was just the dagger being pushed deeper into my heart"
"i see, you left the headmaster a question, a question you want him to answer by mid year, what was that question" JC stared blankly, he knew that Yahya already knew the question, but wanted him to say it outright,
"i asked "what is the point of a Beastar if they come from somewhere that segregates like this, when they're meant to bring unity, is it a title? A rank? A position? Or just a meaningless word?" and he couldn't answer, I guess no one I know can" JC said bitterly, staring at the remains of the carrots he still had,
"i can answer that" JC looked up at Yahya, his hunch about what almost answered "but there are 2 separate points of view, one as a Beastar, and the public perception of one, for the public, a Beastar is an icon for all of them, a way to unify them under a single banner, it isn't perfect, but they believe that the Beastar is the one who'll guide them into the future"
"and the view as the Beastar, such as yourself?" Yahya stared for a bit
"we try to guide the people as best we can in our own unique ways, for 26 years I have done so, mainly from the shadows, so much so that the modern generation believes that the Beastar is nothing but a myth, but I still strive to make a better place before I die, or retire to my successor" JC silently stared before finishing the carrots,
"i have a request, something that you might be able to fulfil"
"oh, what is it, if I may ask?"
"i'm looking for someone, they didn't return home last night"
"i see, but why didn't you bring it up with the police downstairs" JC reached into his pocket,
"i figured that I'd start from where he was known to be last" he pulled out the envelope that his invite was in and tossed it over to Yahya,
"really now?" Yahya slowly opened the envelope and pulled the invite out "why would your invite say that they were" he stopped himself when he saw that he was holding the invite he sent to Legoshi a while ago
"you were the last to see him, alive or otherwise" Yahya frowned
"be that as it may, are you accusing me of doing something?" he demanded, JC glanced around the room,
"your planters have carnivore remains, and that bowl over there has carnivore teeth" JC stated, Yahya's eyes moving a bit, JC knowing that he was looking around the room, horses were known to have 350° vision "i can tell that the blood on them is fresh, so it must've come from him, that just leaves the question, why did you kill him, if-" JC was cut off as Yahya flung the table at him, he fell backwards off of his chair, his walking stick landing nearby,
"i might tell you what happened, if you survive" Yahya said, approaching JC as he sat up, Yahya lifted his leg and brought it down in a powerful down-kick, his eyes widening when he saw JC's arms in a cross, his foot impacting where they met, he was surprised, all that had fought him in the past would get out of the way whenever he did that, JC pushed hard and caused Yahya to stumble back, he clambered to his walking stick and stood up, surprising him,
"why bring that if you're able to walk properly?" Yahya questioned,
"it's better to appear weak to a powerful being then to try and be their equal" JC replied, his eyes becoming yellow, holding his walking stick and swinging it around like a tonfa, Yahya looked at him with interest, a similar interest to Legoshi when he first read his file,
"you're a unique one, I can give you that" Yahya stated "but why risk you're own life to look for another" JC stared, then repeated something that he said to Juno last year,
"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" JC glared at Yahya "I'd even avenge their death, if it had come to that" Yahya stared, remembering Gosha saying something similar years ago,
"then I have to tell you this" Yahya said, relaxing his stance "Legoshi fled this room last night, after removing his teeth, saying that without them, he had the right to punch me, quite surprising, honestly" JC stared at him,
"how do I know that you're telling the truth?" Yahya looked upwards a bit
"as you can see, the security up here is quite minimal" JC glanced around, only seeing smoke detectors around "I'm afraid that you'll have to take my word for it" JC frowned silently, relaxing his stance,
"i guess that makes some sense" he said, approaching the windows and looking over the city "but where could he have gone?"
"i can tell you this much" Yahya said, approaching him slowly "he couldn't have gone to any of the hospitals, they might've mistaken his bloody mouth as him having devoured a herbivore, that, and I've already checked, no grey wolf with missing teeth has checked into any"
JC's eyes silently swept over the city, soon lingering in the direction of the black market, he frowned a bit, figuring out where he might've gone,
"thank you for inviting me for lunch" he said, turning to Yahya "but I think I should be going"
"i understand" he replied, both heading to the elevator, JC extending his walking stick, Yahya knowing why "but I suggest you be careful, the BB trade is still strong, I'm still seeking the perp responsible for all of this, he has so far eluded me, and this is more dangerous then any carnivore under it's influence, so I suggest you learn how to defend yourself, the way you did against me was commendable, however, it was a bit sloppy, but I do commend you for your uniqueness in that regard" JC stared at him,
"i'll keep that in mind, and thank you again" he said, stepping into the elevator and heading down, he silently pulled out his phone and brought something up on it,
'if Legoshi was badly injured, then Gohin would be the only one he'd trust with treating him, considering that both of them fought through the Shishigumi to rescue Haru, and trained together to give him a fighting chance against Riz, so I'm sure that he's fine, then again, I don't know if he made it there or not, I better go check regardless, after all, it's his birthday in a fortnight, and it'd be cruel that another of my friends had died before his 18th, I feel so helpless, and yet, Yahya makes an interesting point about training to defend myself better, I feel like I should contact my ancestors again for that, they might have some tips for me, Legoshi, know this my friend, I will become stronger to fight along side you should the need arise, for you, for Haru, and especially for Juno'