The reveal in this chapter has been one I've been waiting to write for a really, really long time. What comes with it though is a sign that things will be coming to an end for this season soon I know I've said that before until I realized there was much more I wanted to say. I want to close the door on the stories at their current stages so I can gear up for the next season. I'm getting a bit too ahead of myself. Thank you all for your continued reading of this story. Please Enjoy!


CHAPTER 45: The Ugly Truth Or Beautiful Lie?

"Kibi, could you get me some more cloth?" Dom asked as he was stitching Juno's costume for the second Adler play. The anteater followed his friend's request, leading him to Kai who was stitching Ellen's costume.

"I didn't say it before but your stitching is really good Kai," Kibi said, reaching for his spare cloth.

"Really? Thanks, I hadn't really noticed. Dom always goes behind my work to make sure it's good." Kibi nodded again and looked closer to point out what he was talking about. Riz slipped by the two. Kibi gave him the cloth for Dom since he was on his way over.

"Heads up Dom."

"Hey! You don't need to toss it that hard!"

"Uh sorry." The bear looked at his hand. Legoshi looked at the bear too from the bottom of the stairs.

"Legoshi, pay attention!" Zoe yelled. He instinctively reacted to Juno's soft swing as he did. The two went back and forth. Juno put her all into the performance just not into her swings. It was much more pleasant than when Bill and Legoshi went head to head.

"You should move around more!" Juno said, demanding really.

"Aren't we supposed to be clashing with each other for this scene?"

"Dontcha get it Legoshi? She wants you to push her! You're both carnivores so make it look like it!" The wolf looked at Juno who nodded, with the sword in front of her face.

"Go for it," Sanu said. Juno smiled a little and ran at Legoshi who dodged, countered, or parried effortlessly. The exchange made Juno look like a toddler swinging at nothing but air.

"You can run around and dodge my attacks all you want, devil! You won't stop me from doing my duty as the Grim Reaper!"

"If you cannot touch me then you'll never be able to deliver that woman a proper death." Legoshi coldly responded. Juno smiled brightly before stepping into combat again. This time she swung sharper, faster, and targeted. She watched Legoshi's body closely, measuring the slight twitches in his muscles. It was like he moved a bit slower. Going for a few slower strikes she sped up his penultimate one. She sent Legoshi flying backward with a light tap to his left side.

"As I told you before, you will not stop me from delivering this woman to her proper resting place. Now no one stands in my way!" Juno triumphantly shouted acting like she sheathed her fake sword to complete the scene.

"Excellent! Let's take a break, everyone!" Juno walked over to Legoshi who was enjoying the cooler outdoor air on the ground. He laid down with his eyes closed, and Juno knelt down on his left side.

"You didn't have to jump so far you know."

"I was trying to sell it. What'd you think?"

"Overdramatic but perfect. You could've dodged my attack couldn't you?"

"No. You were faster than I expected."

"Was I? Or are you lying?" Juno took Legoshi's paw into hers. He looked at her while she gently massaged his fingers. "I never realized how tough your skin was." His tail wagged softly.

"Sh-should we be doing this during club time?"

"Doing what?" Juno closed her eyes, placing his palm on her cheek. Her fur is soft and inviting. Legoshi focused on her but his mind thought of touching her more and more. She looked at him with passionate eyes before returning his paw to him. "Sorry, I'm more emotional during this time of year. I'm happy we get to do this together."

"Me too. I never thought they'd keep me for this role though. I hope I can just be a stagehand again next year. I also hate being a bad guy on stage." Juno softly chuckled.

"You shouldn't be afraid of or hate the spotlight. It's a place where you can be yourself and not at the same time. You don't have to hide your anxiety if that's a part of your performance. As carnivores, we can show our strength and our beauty. We can be equal as actors. You shouldn't be scared, you should be happy. Carnivores and herbivores watch us in harmony even if for a little while, so we should give them a great performance!" Juno stood to her feet and pulled Legoshi up too. Her smile was too pure for him to do anything about. He was dazed for a moment, trapped in her amethyst-purple eyes. Those little windows into her soul made him feel at peace.

"Juno, you're always working so hard. I don't think I've ever thought of carnivores as really beautiful creatures until I met you." Legoshi thought of saying that but it just came out as a blank stare.

"You've got some leaves stuck in your fur." Juno lightly brushed him.

"...Thank you."

"You shouldn't stare at me like that. It makes me feel like prey."

"That's because you're my game."

"Huh?"

"I didn't mean it like I would eat you! I meant it in a completely romantic sense!" Legoshi was dumbfounded by his feelings bubbling to the surface. He quickly turned his muzzle to the sky and clenched his teeth.

"If I'm your game then you want to play me, right?" Legoshi's eyes went wide with surprise. "I want you to…"

"Just kiss already!" Tao yelled at the two who moved away from one another. Juno's arms retreated to the front of her body. Legoshi rubbed his tricep awkwardly.

"Don't ruin their moment!" Bill yelled, grabbing his rude friend. He gave Legoshi a wink that Juno couldn't see. Legoshi waved his hand in front of his face with a nervous look. Bill rolled his eyes, dragging Tao back to his work. The wolf returned his gaze to Juno who looked so vulnerable and beautiful. Even she could have this helplessness that is completely undeniable.

"Juno?"

"Yes?"

"I know we agreed to wait but I don't know if I can anymore. I-" Juno shook her head.

"You shouldn't break our promise. Although, I'm no better. If Tao hadn't yelled at us I would've broken it myself. I was going to tell you my feelings. I can't do that, we can't do that. My resolve might be crushed under the idea of a quiet future together with you and I'm only a first year. Those ideas can't stop me no matter how badly I want them. It's even worse for you because you should worry about your future too. Telling me that you can't wait anymore is so unlike you. We can't let our instincts guide our relationship. We should let whatever happens, happen at a good pace." Juno smiled."The best I can tell you now is… that I know I want you to be with me." Legoshi reacted with a bit of a sour face. "That's not the look I was expecting. I thought you'd smile and show me your fangs."

"I want to but I've always been taught that female grey wolves like to avoid conflict. My grandpa told me stories about how sweet, soft-spoken, and ditzy my grandma was. My mom when she was young was the same way too. You totally destroy that image and make me wonder if my grandpa lied to give me a good image of them."

"My mother has always told me my determination comes from my dad. Hera is more like him than me though."

"Really? I guess I'll know what to expect from your parents when I meet them."

"Yeah. Wait… What?!"

"W-well I thought I'd have to meet them eventually since we plan to be together right?!"

"I just told you we should worry about our futures, accomplishing our dreams! That's what matters right now, not meeting each other's parents!"

"Sorry sorry! I know it's still far out but it makes me excited! When I meet them I'll know even more about you and I want to know everything about you!-" Legoshi let those words fall out of his mouth.

"Stop it! Stop talking! Stop talking right now! I won't let you shake up my heart and will!" Juno yelled with a blush on her face.

"I'm sorry! I can't control it!" "What is happening to me? I'm normally calm and collected. I could control my emotions whenever I was with her before what's going on?! Is this… is this… THAT? Is this what love feels like?!" Legoshi shook off the thought and went with his gut.

"You and me, Juno! We should get back to practicing and plan a date for sometime soon. Let's do it!"

"Legoshi's never acted like this before! He's impulsive! He's forward! He's so, so, so, so honest! But my heart is beating so fast! I love his passionate side and his calm side. Wait, is this THAT? Is this what true love feels like? I never felt this way whenever we spoke before!"

"Yes, I want to go on a date!" Carnivore love is as intense as their bodies at times but more often than not it is controlled and tame because their instincts view the relationship as correct leading to a chemical to be released in their brains that comforts them. This controls their other instinctive desires that flair up for the sake of comfort but it doesn't eliminate them. It only dulls them a little bit. Legoshi and Juno looked at one another. One thought came across their minds.

"The love of a carnivore is as dangerous as it is beautiful or comforting!" A loud snap broke the two from the moment.

"Riz!" Ellen shouted. The bear had broken one of the wooden swords. "Be careful with the props, are you feeling alright?"

"Yeah, I don't know what's wrong with me today." Ellen quickly stepped back when the bear moved closer to pick up the broken pieces of wood on the ground. "I'm sorry. I wasn't trying to scare you."

"It's fine. Why don't you take a break for the rest of the day? Preparing for finals is probably stressing you out right?"

"But we need to prepare for the play."

"I'm sorry I have to say this but you're setting us back. This is the sixth time today. You've already smashed one of the cardboard bush cutouts you were cleaning earlier." Riz twitched.

"Hey, Ellen, that's a bit harsh don't you think?" Sheila spoke up. "Maybe he's just having an off day, you don't need to talk to him like that."

"She's right though. He even threw the cloth at Dom really hard earlier." Kibi pointed out.

"That was probably just an accident. Sometimes carnivore strength can get away from us. You wouldn't get it." Kai retorted.

"Wouldn't that be more of a reason for him to leave then?" Ellen responded.

"Everyone just calm down," Els said, coming to the bear's side. "Are you alright Riz?" The goat lightly touched his forearm.

"No!"

"Ah!" Riz moved his arm away from her scratching deep into her palm with his nails.

"Els!" Ellen ran to her friend's side. The scent of blood pushed Riz's heart into his throat. He looked at the goat who started to sweat from her wound.

"I-"

"Don't come any closer! Go away!" Riz pulled his hand back.

"I'm sorry." He turned and ran off, his paws were shaking. Legoshi wanted to move but he felt something stop him.

"Legoshi, you go check on him! I'll make sure Els is alright!" Legoshi nodded before chasing after the brown bear. Riz ran off faster than he expected.

"I'll be tagging along with you, okay?" Pina appeared beside the carnivore.

"Pina why are you-"

"Props for the club that Riz destroyed and some others so we can decorate the stage in the club room after it's done getting a deep clean by the janitors."

"Pina, now's not the time for you to-"

"You can't keep your feelings hidden, you know. He's that alpaca's killer and you suspect it, don't you?" Legoshi gripped the sheep's shoulder, stopping them in place.

"Shut up. Don't say another word about that."

"What are you gonna do? Eat me, strike me, or kiss me maybe?"

"What are you talking about? Carnivores aren't for you to just throw around those kinds of accusations at. That means you don't say anything about Riz or anyone else!"

"Friends have two faces, don't you think? Like a coin flip. You never know which you'll get, heads or tails. All left up to complete and utter chance. Stop trying to act like you carnivores are multifaceted creatures! You're all just meat-eaters or masking that obsession."

"I told you to shut up!" Legoshi's voice boomed through the dead trees. "You can say whatever you want but that doesn't make it true! You don't know what it's like being a carnivore, herbivores aren't the only ones who suffer!"

"Easy to say when you don't have to worry about being eaten by your classmates. So you tell me are you so sure that no one in the drama club could've eaten an herbivore? Are you so sure that no one in the club could've eaten that alpaca?" Pina's eyes narrowed, searching Legoshi's for any sort of guilt or desire to kill him. The wolf winced at the question and rubbed the top of his head while gritting his teeth.

"I-I don't. I don't know. There are some of them I don't know but I don't think it's Riz. He wouldn't ever do this." Legoshi hesitated to talk any further anymore.

"You chased after him because you didn't want to suspect a friend, isn't that right? Well, I'm afraid every carnivore in this club is a suspect. Come on, follow me. There's something I want to tell you." Pina had gotten a little ways ahead before the wolf meant to follow him took a step forward. The two arrived at the storehouse. Pina unlocked it and sat on a small stack of metal boxes.

"So why do you think Riz is the killer?"

"Why do we, you mean? For you I don't know, for me, it's a number of things. The suspect is a large carnivore. After watching you and Bill for the past month I ruled you two out on principle. Neither of you exhibited any behaviors that would fit the framework for a devourer. Juno was an earlier one I marked off my list too." Legoshi's eyes narrowed a bit.

"Carnivores try their best not to be seen after they've eaten an herbivore."

"Good, I don't have to explain much. I narrowed my view to Riz who, honestly, was easier to prove so it was a matter of gathering evidence for a solid case. The constant visitation of the victim's last place alive. Possessiveness over the victim's place in his personal spaces. Physical and emotional reactions to any conversations regarding the victim. He was acting strange after the two of you had a conversation about the victim didn't he?"

"You were watching us?... The reptile, you know them?" Pina smirked at the question. "He just misses a friend. That only makes sense if the predator and prey weren't close to one another."

"You're right, which is why I have to get a proper confession out of him. That's where you come in. "

"I can't just ask him for a confession that might not even be true! You don't even know for sure!"

"Like I said I ruled out you and Juno. Bill and Sheila's mouths are too small to bite into the alpaca. There's only one animal left to look at." Legoshi felt himself on the back foot.

"So all this time you've been looking for the killer. Is that why you joined the club? What do you get out of all this? Do you want to be some sort of a hero?"

"Ensure suspects suspect the least from you, that's investigating 101. It lowers animals' sense of danger and uncomfortability in public settings, especially for carnivores. The least amount of threats the better." Pina looked at Legoshi with piercing eyes. "This is my first big case and it's a cold one, until now. I have what it takes to clean up this mess. You, Legoshi, will help me do it.

"I'm not going to ask a friend if he murdered another friend!" Legoshi felt his heart sink. Pina looked at him pitifully before taking his wallet from his back pocket. He revealed an ID card behind his school ID with no hesitation, it had a police symbol of the city next to his name alongside his date of birth and other numbers.

"I'm a junior undercover detective for the city and you are the key to me winning this little game."

"This isn't something you should joke about! If you keep going I won't forgive you!"

"You and Bill were interviewed by an investigator named Mattheus. He and you were thought to have saved that rabbit from the Shishigumi, well it's more than confirmed now isn't it?" Pina took out his phone. "Canidaes have very good hearing so being able to identify a voice out of a crowd they've heard before should be exceptionally easy," Pina called a number with the phone on speaker, after a few rings the recipient picked up.

"What's up?" Legoshi instantly recognized the voice.

"Hello Mattheus, I wanted to tell you that I think I'll be making a huge breakthrough in the investigation soon. Hopefully, it'll come today and not tomorrow." Pina spoke in a soft yet professional tone while holding eye contact with Legoshi the entire time.

"Awesome. I hope you get that information today so we can go over it tonight. Good luck."

"Thanks. I'll call back tonight." Pina ended the call. He looked at Legoshi who'd taken a few breaths in the dark room, every single item felt like it was pushing him into a smaller and smaller spot every second. However, he couldn't stop what was scratching at the back of his throat constantly.

"... Why? Why tell me all of this? I just don't… I can't do this. Not to him." Legoshi forced eye contact.

"You have to do this. If you don't, who knows when that bear will strike again. He may even kill that poor little rabbit. From what I've heard she's been through a lot." Pina's eyes never left Legoshi's. "You can't risk that." Tem, Louis, Haru, and every herbivore in the drama club flashed in the wolf's head

"You're right. I can't."

"I know you don't want to incriminate your friend but he's under investigation either way. So, do yourself a favor and prove that you aren't a monster like him."

"What?"

"Carnivores stick together because they have shared kinship thanks to having eaten herbivore meat, be it devouring or eating from the Black Market. You've done one of those right? That's why you left for the Black Market multiple times for the past month or so and a little bit more recently."

"I visit someone there. I don't go there for anything else."

"To visit that back alley doctor. So you must've eaten meat at least once. Maybe I should be investigating you for a possible devouring case?" Legoshi grits his teeth.

"Do you enjoy trying to make carnivores angry? If you do it's dangerous, you could get killed."

"That's the best way to catch devourers. When an herbivore is killed it's an incident. When an herbivore cop is killed, society is relentless. My killer will be found and convicted. To put another monster behind bars is good value in exchange for my life." Pina smiled slyly until he caught Legoshi's eyes.

"You try to get carnivores to break. You don't value your own life. Aren't you supposed to protect all animals?" Legoshi returned a near-disgusted look.

"It's those eyes I love so much from carnivores." Pina jumped down to his feet. "That denial, that disgust with the truth. You carnivores are monsters. Beasts who will eat whatever herbivore flesh whenever they can't handle their instincts whispering in their ears. You feel like doing that right now?"

"I will never eat meat again. I promised that to myself when I came out of my shell to eat in the Black Market. I can't look herbivores in their eyes and convince them I'm not a threat but I can make sure I'm not. Being a carnivore, having this body, these instincts don't make us monsters or beasts. We can protect and save. The same way we can devour and hurt. So don't talk about us like we aren't worth being equal to herbivores. Carnivores and herbivores are both beautiful." Legoshi moved past his disgust to a softer determined expression. Pina couldn't help but smile at such a warm conviction.

"No carnivore would ever say that so easily." Pina took a card from his wallet and handed it to Legoshi. "That's my phone number. I'll call tonight around 9 PM so you can meet my partner in the auditorium where the alpaca died. We'll talk more there."

"Why not tell me right here?"

"She's the senior officer in the investigation. I wasn't supposed to tell you any of this so you'll need to hear the same speech from her. Well, we should get back, we've been gone for a while." Pina picked up some wooden bush cutouts. The wolf closed his eyes and took a breath. He picked up some props, moving to follow the sheep.