Every parent could be a bit of a helicopter parent. Always hoovering over their children and looking out for them if they need their help. Either they are in an actual problem or not, the parents will be ready to go out of their way to see their child and make sure they are okay.
Ibuki and Leano were like that.
They didn't hoover over Legoshi 24/7, but they were always ready to drop everything the second they thought he needed them.
Like on how he had not been taking their calls during the entire weekend, to the point where they were getting worried that something might have happened.
I mean, there had been a devouring in the school already.
Leano was ready to give a call to Jack and demand him to tell her what was going on with her boy, when Ibuki stopped her.
He then told her about the events of Friday. Of how he went to the play because he wanted to see Legoshi perform, and he even took the camera to record it and bring back for her to watch their son being an actor.
And he told her how Legoshi acted on the stage, and what he heard their son say when he went looking for him in the dressing rooms behind the stage.
"Why the heck didn't you told me this sooner, you moron!?" Leano said right after Ibuki finished explaining to her. This honestly made Ibuki a little frightened.
The lion also had the impression that Leano would have used words other than "heck" and "moron" was not for their twin daughters being playing just a few feet away from them, as they were staying at home because they were recovering from a cold and they could still be contagious, so they didn't go to school today.
The next thing Ibuki knew was that Leano was demanding him to get into the car. After dropping their girls on Gosha's house, telling him that they "would not take long", Ibuki was told to take the next exit
"Where are we going?"
"Where do you think?" Leano asked, her expression serious like Ibuki had only seem when it was something that involved their children. "We are going to see if our son needs us!"
It took a while to get there. It was all the way on the other side of town, after all. However, as soon as they arrived, Leano marched all the way into the school, with Ibuki following her close behind.
After talking to a teacher (which was very surprised when they told her they were married and had a son studying on her class), they were told that Legoshi had called in sick that morning through his friend Jack.
Their next stop was the carnivore dorms. They passed by some random wolf on their way there, who looked at the two of them with a raised eyebrow, as they went right to dorm 701. They knew they were on the right place when Jack was the one who opened the door.
"Uhhh, Legoshi?" Jack said, as he looked at the two adult animals standing on the other side of the door.
"What?" Legoshi's voice came from the inside.
"There is someone here to see you."
With this, Jack got out of their way just as Legoshi looked at the door. His eyes widened when he saw the two of them.
"Mom!? Dad!?"
Legoshi never expected his parents to come to the Cherryton. He never imagined that they ever would. I mean, what reasons they would have to? However, there they were. Ibuki wearing a long-sleeved shirt and a pair of jeans and fine shoes, and Leano wearing a spring-green dress, a lime-green jacket with long sleeves, white gloves, long leggings of a soft yellow color and white shoes.
Leano was the one who looked like Legoshi the most, despite him being mostly lion, as Legoshi had canine features, and they had the same color of fur and similarly-shaped muzzles and eyes, making it obvious they were relatives.
Soon, his parents were sitting across from him in the bed of one of his roommates, both talking to their son about how he had been ducking their calls all weekend.
"I... have been sick. The sound of the phone made my head hurts, so I turned it off..."
They knew right away Legoshi was lying, and they immediately called him out on that. The hybrid could only look down as Leano and Ibuki both looked at him, and that was when the lion decided to reveal:
"Back on the day you were cast to play a role on Adler, Jack called me to tell. I arranged with Gosha for him to look after the girls that day, and I came to see you. I saw what happened on stage, and I believe I know my own son well enough to know that what I saw was not rehearsed. None of it. Wanna talk about it, pup?"
Legoshi wished he could not, but he knew he had no choice. Not when his father saw everything and had clearly already told his mother about it. The hybrid had no choice but to speak to the two of them.
Legoshi just started talking, and then everything just came spilling out. Legoshi told them how upset he had been after Tem's death, and how they were great friends and how Tem helped keep his secret. He told them about the episodes he had with his panic attacks. He told them about why he and Bill had a fight right before the play and how it escalated to Legoshi challenging him to an actual fight on stage.
"I see..." Was all Ibuki said, as he and Leano looked at Legoshi with serious expressions.
"And now everyone knows..." Legoshi said, looking down. "Everyone knows now and... and I am scared. I am scared it will all start again... I... I think I want to just drop out. To just go back and try the homeschooling thing. Maybe it would be for the best..."
There was silence after those words, Leano and Ibuki shared a look, both silently looking for the opinion of the other. Their years of marriage having given them an understanding of each other that they both could know that the other was thinking around the same thing about what Legoshi just said.
"Legoshi, darling." Leano said to her son. Legoshi looked up at her.
"I know that you didn't had an easy childhood. And I know that what you went through is something you don't want to go through again." Leano said to the younger hybrid. "I know what is like to be afraid of what others will say and how they will treat you. I know what it is like to be so scared of it that you would prefer to just hide forever. But hiding forever is not a way of living. It is hardly even living at all. Believe me."
Legoshi continued to look at his mother.
"So, even though you are scared, I don't think you need to run away and hide. If you do it now, then you will probably want to hide forever, and this is not the kind of life I want for you."
After she said that, Legoshi then turned to his father, as he spoke:
"You already know my opinion about running away and hiding from your problems. You know that I am not in favor of any of that. Which is why I don't think you should do it now only because you are scared. Like your mother said, living in hiding is no way to live, and I would hate to see you living like that."
Legoshi looked at the two of them, before looking down.
"But, you are our son, and we support you in anything you decide." Ibuki said to him. "But don't make a decision right now. Not while you are still sad and scared, even because you might regret it later. You are talking about dropping out of school, and this is not the type of decision you should be doing on a whim. Take some time, let things flow for a while, and then you can make a decision once you've thought about it clearly. But, whatever you decide, know that your mother and I will support you all the way. You can be sure of that."
Legoshi looked up at them again, and he saw on their eyes that they both really meant it.
"Mom... Dad... thank you..." Legoshi said, it was all he could manage to say now.
"Don't mention it, kid." Ibuki said, and then he got up.
"Now put your jacket, you are coming with us." Ibuki said, and this caused Legoshi to look up at him.
"Eh?"
"To Drama Club." Ibuki clarified. "According to what you told us, you have some apologizing to do."
Legoshi knew he could not argue with his father when he spoke something that way. Soon, the hybrid had his jacket and was leaving his dorm with his parents. On their way out of the dorms, they passed by that same wolf, who looked at all of them with narrowed eyes as they passed by him. He was completely ignored by the family, though, as they had something much more important to do first.
Legoshi had seriously insulted one of his clubmates and greatly disrespected his upperclassman. This was not something that Ibuki could leave like that. Legoshi needed to apologize to both. The lion made sure his son understood that as he guided him to Drama Club.
They made their way into the club, drawing the eyes of all the members as Legoshi, who they had not seen all day, made his way into the club accompanied by a strong-looking lion and a gorgeous she-wolf they never saw before.
One stop to talk with Sheila and ask where Bill was, and soon Legoshi was taking his parents to the leading actor's office, where the tiger was having a word with Louis.
They were both surprised for seeing those two strange animals coming in, as much as they were when Legoshi got on his hands and knees and apologized to the two of them. All the while he was under Ibuki's watchful eyes.
"It was nice being part of a club with you two... goodbye." Legoshi said, what clearly surprised and confused the tiger and deer. Leano and Ibuki, on their end, shared a look among themselves. It seemed that Legoshi was still set on dropping out of Cherryton, by the looks of it. Or, at the very least, it seemed he would be leaving Drama Club.
On their way out, they crossed paths with a pelican, who they assumed was the club's director, according to what Legoshi told them. And this pelican seemed like he was worried with Legoshi, before turning to face them.
"They are my parents." Legoshi said, lowering his head. This seemed to surprise the pelican, who looked at the two of them with interest.
Ibuki then adjusted his glasses.
"Yes, indeed. Sorry for intruding in your club, this was rude of us. My name is Ibuki." He then gestured to the beautiful she-wolf standing by his side. "This is my wife, Leano. Legoshi is our son."
All of Drama Club was interested after hearing that. Interested enough that Ibuki and Leano both knew they could not just leave without giving some explanations.
"So, we got worried about Legoshi not answering our calls, so we decided to come check on him. After talking to him, we decided to come here so he could apologize to his clubmates for some... problems that there were between them." Ibuki said, as he and Leano were both kneeling before Sano and the members of Drama Club. Legoshi was also kneeling, right between his father and mother, and he had pulled his hoodie back, revealing his maned head for his clubmates as he continued to look down.
Legoshi's mane was bushier than his father's, and of a much darker color, but it was obvious from whom he had inherited it.
"So Legoshi is a hybrid!" Kibi whispered to Fudge.
"Legoshi is half-lion!" Zoe whispered to Kai, who whispered back:
"I didn't even know that was possible!"
Leano and Ibuki, of course, noticed those whispers, and they both remained with serious expressions, while Legoshi's ears pressed flat against his skull. All that whispering was not doing anything to help with the hybrid's insecurities.
"There is anything you'd like to say, Sano-san?" Ibuki asked, making the whispering stop, as well as making the pelican blink and realize he had been staring.
"O-oh, sorry! Is just that..." the bird said, sounding apologetic. "I guess I was caught off guard. I mean... Legoshi has been a part of our club for years, and none of us ever knew he was a hybrid."
"Would it have made any difference if you knew?" Leano asked coldly. This caught the pelican off guard. The female wolf was very hostile while looking at him with those glacial eyes. The bird, however, quickly recovered.
"Oh, of course not! I mean, Legoshi would have still been another valuable member of our club. He still is, in fact."
Leano looked at him for a while, as if trying to see if the bird was being sincere or only saying what he thought would make the hybrid's parents not sue the school for discrimination.
"That's my first time meeting a hybrid..." Said one of the club members. This caused Leano to shift her gaze from the pelican to the one who spoke, a rhino who shied away as soon as she noticed Leano's cold eyes on her.
"Technically, you already met Legoshi when he joined." Leano said, "He didn't become another person just because you found out he is a hybrid. I hope that is clear to you."
Everyone felt shivers with the way the she-wolf spoke that.
"Okay, so Legoshi is half-lion and half-wolf, right?" Fudge asked, causing everyone's eyes to turn to him, as he looked at the red panda, as he asked:
"That does not explain the extra arms."
As he heard that, Legoshi's second pair of arms moved under his shirt and jacket. It was Ibuki who put himself to explain:
"Do any of you knows what is polymelia?"
They thought a bit at the answer the lion's question.
"Wait, I think I heard about that..." Tao said, "It is when three people date each other at the same time, right?"
Yeah, that panther clearly knew nothing, so it was safe to assume the others didn't either.
"Polymelia is classified as a birth defect." Ibuki explained. "It is how you call when a child is born with more limbs than they should. If a child is born with a third arm or leg, or even with a second tail, then it is said that they have polymelia."
"Polymelia happens in a lot of species." Ibuki continued, "Now, as far as the extra limbs go, they are almost always atrophied, malformed, and they are rarely very functional if even functional at all. Normally they only get on the way of the person born with them, so it is better to have the extra limb removed"
He then looked at his son, who still had his head down, facing the ground.
"Legoshi's case was unique. He was born with two extra arms." He said, "They were fully formed, what means that they had a lot of veins running through them, so having them surgically removed was too risky. As Legoshi grew, we realized that his extra pair of arms was just as functional as his regular ones, and he could use them with just as much skill as his regular hands."
Ibuki looked at the Drama Club once more.
"You can say that our son is lucky, as far as an animal with polymelia can be."
Legoshi was not sure if he agreed with that. Those arms were useful, alright, but they were a great part of the reason why he had to go through great lengths to keep his nature as a hybrid a secret.
"Yeah, okay, I can swallow that." Fudge said, "But, why are they covered in scales?"
Legoshi seemed to shrink even more as he heard that. Leano was the one who answered it this time.
"I am a hybrid as well..." Leano said, as she removed the glove on her left hand. "My father is a Komodo dragon." He then pulled back her sleeve, letting everyone see that half of her hand and all her arm from the elbow down were covered in scales of the same emerald-green as her son's lower arms.
"Wow..." Someone said, as they all looked at Leano with surprise. Meanwhile, the female once more hid her arm and replaced the glove.
"But, wait." Kai said, "I always heard that hybrids were all sterile. That they can't have children."
"That is just a misconception." Ibuki clarified. "Being a hybrid doesn't automatically makes you sterile. Legoshi's existence is more than enough proof of that. He is fifty percent Maasai lion, which he got from me, and he is also twenty-five percent gray wolf and twenty-five percent Komodo dragon, which he got from his mother."
"Okay, not that I didn't knew was possible." Kai said, and that was when Bill finally spoke:
"But, wait... if Legoshi is mostly lion, why he was on the canine dorm? Wouldn't it make more sense for him to be on the feline one? And why does his student ID says that he is a gray wolf?"
There was a bit of a silence, before Legoshi himself spoke.
"I... I asked Principal Gon to list my species as gray wolf. I mean, it is not a lie, I am part gray wolf..." The hybrid seemed awkward as he said that, as if he was admitting a very embarrassing secret, before he spoke:
"I... just didn't wanted to be bullied again..."
Everyone looked at him in surprise.
"Yes, it is true..." Ibuki said, sadly, "Legoshi was a victim of bully on his previous school. All because of his nature as a hybrid. I can still remember how he came home in tears nearly every day because the other children were mean to him. They stole his lunch, threw sand at him, they punched and kicked him..."
"That's awful!" Sheila said, horrified, and Ibuki could only sigh.
"Yeah, it was... and the teachers never did anything to help Legoshi whenever that happened. I even went to the school to see them about it but they..." Ibuki hesitated, his expression getting heavier, as if he was remembering something unpleasant.
"They were just useless." Ibuki finally said. "They didn't want to do anything. Not even when the kids came up with that nickname for Legoshi..."
"Nickname?" Fudge asked, "What nickname?"
Ibuki didn't answered right away. He looked to the side, at his son and wife. That was when Legoshi spoke:
"Chimera... they called me Legoshi the Chimera."
Everyone looked at the hybrid.
"What... is a chimera?" Zoe asked, and there was a brief silence, before the answer came from Louis himself:
"A mythological monster."
Everyone looked at the deer, as he stood there with his arms crossed, looking at Legoshi and his parents as he explained.
"A chimera is a creature that appears in a number of old stories and folktales, all around the world, and it even appears sometimes in mainstream media, always as a monster that needs to be killed." Louis said, "The classical chimera is described as a having the head of a lion, the body of a goat, the wings of a bat and the long tail of a serpent. It's appearance and precise qualities can vary a lot from one source to the other, but what always remains the same is the fact that the creature in question is a mix of body parts of several different species."
"To put it bluntly..." Louis concluded. "A chimera is a hybrid."
Legoshi looked down as he heard that, and Leano looked straight at Louis. It seemed that she didn't really liked hearing those words coming from the deer.
"Legoshi's school life was not easy." Ibuki said, wanting to continue it and not focus on that subject for too long, for the sake of everyone involved. "That was why, when he came to Cherryton, he decided it was best to keep the fact he was a hybrid hidden. That was why we asked Gon to list him as a gray wolf on his ID, and it is also why we asked him to be placed on the canine dorms."
"Because, historically speaking, canines are more sociable and accepting than felines." Louis said, as if he was stating a fact. Bill, who was standing by his side, looked at the deer. Ibuki, on his end, nodded.
"Legoshi's best friend, Jack, is a Labrador, and he was one of the few kids who never looked down on Legoshi for being a hybrid." Ibuki said, "Also, many of his bullies happened to be felines, so Legoshi said he would feel more comfortable sharing a room with canines."
There was a bit more of silence, as everyone absorbed the information they were just given. That was when Legoshi spoke, on a quiet voice:
"I... didn't wanted it all to happen again..."
Everyone looked at the hybrid, as he continued:
"The name calling, the singing, the teasing from all of the other students. I just wanted to avoid all of it. That was why I worked so hard to hide the fact I was a hybrid for the past five years..."
Legoshi sighed.
"And... that's why I'm going to leave Cherryton."
"Wait, what?" Bill said, looking to the hybrid in surprise, and so were the rest of the club. Meanwhile, Ibuki and Leano shared a look.
It seemed their son was still keen on the idea of dropping out.
"I will be leaving..." Legoshi said, "My secret is out. It will start again now. I know it will. I don't want to go through it all again. I can't."
Legoshi closed his eyes.
"That is why I'll be leaving the school. I'll think of what I want to do going on..." He bowed to the Drama Club. "Thank you very much for taking care of me so far. I appreciate it."
"Legoshi..." Sano said, as he continued to look at the hybrid, and so was everyone else.
"Are you being serious?" Said someone. It was Els. "Are you really just going to leave like that?"
"I prefer to..." Legoshi said, straightening himself. "Before it all start going bad. It will be better than waiting for people to start mistreating me..."
"You can't!"
That was so sudden that is caused Legoshi to look at the goat in surprise. And he was not the only one who was looking at her, but Els was only looking at him.
"You can't just leave like that!" She said, looking at him. "Not when we finally have the chance to know you!"
Legoshi blinked. He could not form an answer to that. All he could do was look at her in surprise.
"Legoshi... ever since you joined the club, you have been a mystery." Els said to him. "You always kept your distance, and we honestly never could understand you very well. I guess that, because of this, a lot of us made wrong assumptions about you."
Els was speaking of herself. She was speaking of how she assumed Legoshi was a killer, when it could not be further away from the truth. How she misinterpreted Legoshi's kindness attacked him. She was speaking of how she spoke to the other members bad things about him, as she judged him without even knowing him, all because she was scared.
"Legoshi, being part of a club means getting to know each other." Els said to him. "It means seeing everything the others have to offer, be it good or bad, and learning more about them. This is what we all do here every day... and what we never could with you, because you always were so distant."
Legoshi blinked, looking at Els, as she looked back at him.
"You had your reasons, we know that now." Els said to him. "You didn't want us to find your secret. We can understand that. But, the fact we found out is not really a bad thing. This means you can let us close now! It means you can let us in!"
She looked right into Legoshi's eyes.
"This means we can finally start to know you." She said, "Please... don't go away just when we have the chance to know you for who you are."
Legoshi could only look in surprise at the goat. He really didn't know what to say to her.
"She is right, you know?" Louis said, looking at Legoshi, and this caused the wolf to look at him, just like everyone else. "Knowing each other is part of being a club. This is part of what you signed yourself for when you accepted the invitation to join, like everyone else. You should not try to avoid it only because it is intimidating to you."
Louis sounded formal as he said that, like he did most of the time. However, he did sound a bit less formal as he said:
"That is why I think you should stay. I mean, I may be just a spoiled rich brat, but I do think you should stay here in Cherryton. This way I can finally get to know what you really are all about."
Everyone looked at the deer in surprise as he said that. Even Leano and Ibuki had slightly surprised expressions, as the female hybrid had a raised eyebrow as she looked at the deer.
That was when Sano cleared his throat, and then spoke:
"Legoshi, I am sure that your time on your old schools was not good. And the fact that the teachers didn't helped you when they should have is nothing short of disgraceful, but I don't think that dropping out of Cherryton is the answer. So, I really recommend you not to do so. Even because, by staying on the school, you will be able to get a full education, and will have a better chance of a good future."
Legoshi looked at him, and then he looked at everyone.
He didn't saw anger on their eyes. He didn't saw disgust or spite. He didn't saw contempt.
All he saw was... worry.
Are they... worried about me? Legoshi thought, as he saw how everyone was looking at him in a way that few people, including his own family, did before.
"I... I think I need to go back to my dorm..." Legoshi said, and soon, the hybrid and his parents were both getting up.
"Thank you for your time. Once more, we apologize for busting in your club without any warning." Ibuki said, bowing to Sano. "Is just that, we were really worried with our son."
"Oh, yes, I understand." Sano said to the lion. "I talk with parents often, I know how some of them can get with their children. If anything, the fact that you are ready to come here for Legoshi speaks volumes of what good parents you two are."
"You can bet your beak at it." Leano said, as she stood next to Legoshi. "Ibuki and I will go above and beyond if we think our little cinnamon roll is in trouble."
"Mom!" Legoshi said, still having it in him to be embarrassed with his mother as she called him that. Soon however, the family of three was leaving, but they were stopped by Els, who once more called Legoshi:
"Please, tell me we will see you here tomorrow..."
Once more, Legoshi didn't really knew what to say back to Els, so he chose not to say anything. Instead, he just walked past the door as Ibuki held it open, with Leano and the lion going right after him, leaving Drama Club to look at the door through which Legoshi left.
"So... I guess I go to my dorm now, right?" Legoshi asked, looking at his parents.
Ibuki was the one who answered:
"Not yet. First, we are going to the gardening club..."
"Who is it?" Haru said as she heard the knocking on the door. The door opened, and a canine muzzle peeked from there.
"Miss Haru?" Legoshi asked, before peeking his head as well, looking at the bunny, who looked at him with surprise.
"Oh... it's you..."
Something about the way she said it made Legoshi feel bad. Guess she was still mad at him...
"Can we talk?" Legoshi asked, and the bunny said:
"Well, I assume we can, if you are not going to push me into the ground again."
She turned her back to the wolf as she carried the bag of fertilizer into a place and put it down as she heard the door behind her open.
"And, of course, if you don't go around spreading anymore rumors about me around the school. Seriously, you have no idea what I had to..."
She trailed as she saw that the wolf was not alone. Two adults had come with him. A female wolf and a male lion. They both were looking at her.
"Who are you?" Haru asked, and the female wolf then said:
"We are his parents."
"Legoshi..." The lion said, looking at the carnivore in a hood. "What is this about you spreading rumors...?"
The wolf looked like he wanted to be far away from there at that moment.
However, he stayed, and then he got on his hands and knees before the bunny and profusely apologized for what happened. He apologized for having pushed her, saying that it was wrong for she could have gotten hurt, and he said he never spread any rumors, and that he had no idea what she was talking about.
"The rumors about you and I having sex!" The bunny said, "What, are you saying you were not the one who spread it around? You didn't bragged about it? I know some of the other guys did."
"Bragged?" Leano asked, "Other guys? Legoshi, what is she talking about?"
The female wolf was looking at her son as she spoke that, and now Legoshi really looked like he wished to be anywhere other than in there. Haru, on her turn, looked at the wolf.
"Wait... what did he tell you guys?" Haru asked, and Ibuki was the one who answered:
"That you tried to get him to take off his jacket because you thought it was a hot day and that he would end up overheating. He panicked, pushed you away and ran. Why, is that not what happened?"
Haru looked at the lion, before reflecting on it.
Oh, that's right... we didn't had sex. He snapped and then stormed off after pushing me. That was the whole point! She thought, before turning her eyes back to the lion, who was looked at her as he waited for her answer. The female wolf looked like she wanted to hear Haru speak as well.
As for Legoshi... he was looking at the bunny, a silent panic on his eyes as he waited to see what she was going to say.
"Yes, that's what happened." Haru said to the two adults. She sounded very blasé about as she said those words to the two adults, and Legoshi looked at her, surprised that she could lie like that. But, he kind of lied himself...
"I was just worried about you, you know?" Haru said, now talking to the kneeling carnivore in between the two adults. "I was just worried you might have a stroke from the heat, and you pushed me out as if I was trying to bite a piece of you. And you also went around and spread this rumor that you and I slept together. That kind of rumor takes a long time to disappear."
"I didn't spread any rumors!" Legoshi said, in despair "I didn't, I swear!"
For a moment, Haru wondered if he was saying that to her or to the two adults standing by his sides.
"But you did pushed me, didn't you?"
"Because I panicked!" Legoshi said, "I panicked about..." He paused, looking at Haru, and the bunny looked at him.
"About...?" The bunny asked, and that was when Legoshi sighed.
"About you finding out I'm a hybrid..." Legoshi said, pulling back his hood and allowing the bunny to see his mane.
Oh... was all that the bunny could think as she looked at the wolf... or, hybrid. And then she looked at the female wolf and male lion standing by his side. His parents.
Yeah, that checks out.
"Remember when I told you I was bullied in my old school?" Legoshi said, "It was because I am a hybrid. The other kids picked on me because of that and... I just didn't wanted it to happen again. When you tried to take off my jacket, I panicked. All I could think about was how people would pick on me again..."
Haru looked at the hybrid for a few moments, before she said:
"I see…"
There was an awkward silence between the four of them, before Haru asked:
"And, you really didn't start the rumors?"
Legoshi, once more, denied it. However, he then remembered:
"When I was leaving, I met with Kibi. Remember, the anteater? He asked me why I was running and I told him you tried to take off my clothes and... I didn't really explain to him what happened."
"I see..." Haru said, "So, that is how that rumor started... guess that explains why everyone thinks I had sex with a wolf even though nothing happened..."
"I'm sorry about that..." Legoshi said, sounding like he was truly sorry. He never intended to it becoming a rumor.
"Well, it's okay, I guess." Haru said to the hybrid. "I mean, the rumor has been inconvenient for me, but it is not that much worse than the other ones going around. In this case, I think my reputation actually helped the rumor spread."
"I'm sorry." Leano said, looking at the bunny. "Reputation?"
Haru looked up at the female wolf, who looked back at her with a questioning gaze.
She is good-looking. Haru thought as she looked at her. Haru was most definitely into boys, but even she could tell that this wolf was beautiful. She must have been quite popular back on her high school days...
"Rumors spread very easily among small animals." Haru said casually. "I mean, all you need to do is have a few short relationships, date two or three guys for a really short time, and suddenly you are the type of girl who will sleep with just anyone. I guess an angry ex does helps spread those kinds of rumors when she is mad at you."
She had her arms crossed as she said that.
"If a guy is famed for going to bed with a lot of girls, then he is a stud, a real winner. But, if it is a girl who is said to go to bed with a lot of guys, then she is a slut. Seems unfair, doesn't it? Just like how everyone blames anything on the relationship on the girl instead of the guy..."
As Haru spoke that, Leano continued to look at her, nearly as if she was analyzing the bunny, before she eventually nodded.
"Yes, I assume you were right." Leano said, "I always thought those double standards to be infuriating..."
After this, it seemed that the air was clearer.
"I'm really sorry for the trouble I caused you." Legoshi said, bowing his head to the bunny. "I wish there was a way to compensate you."
"Well, you could help me in the garden a bit more any of those days." Haru said to the hybrid. "It was pretty nice to have you around helping me with things."
Legoshi looked at her, and then he looked down. He explained to her that this could be difficult, because he was thinking of dropping out of Cherryton. This did surprise the bunny when she heard about it.
Apparently, she hadn't saw the newspaper today, and didn't knew about the play...
"Everyone knows I am a hybrid now..." Legoshi said, "So I will just... leave before it all starts again. I just can't take the bullying all over again."
"Oh?" Haru said, looking at him. "Was the bullying on your previous school that bad?"
"They used to throw rock and dirt at me and call me 'Legoshi the Chimera'." The hybrid said, "And sometimes they beat me up..."
"Well, that does sounds bad." Haru said, looking at the wolf. "And, you decided just to leave? Just like that?"
"Well, I don't see much other choice." Legoshi said, looking at her. "I mean, it is not as if anyone would miss me other than my dorm mates. I mean, I don't think the guys from Drama Club..."
Legoshi stopped what he was going to say when he remembered how everyone looked at him before he left. How they all looked at him with worry. As if they wanted him to be okay, but didn't wanted him to leave.
"Please, tell me we will see you here tomorrow..."
"Oh, not so close?" Haru said, looking at the hybrid, who then looked at her.
"I... think not. The only one I was actually close with at club was Tem... you know, the alpaca who..." He said, and she nodded, understanding.
"Oh, so you don't really get along well with the others?" Haru asked of him. "What, you have nothing to talk to them about?"
Legoshi looked at her.
"I... actually never tried to talk to them. I mean, we talk about club-related stuff, but other than that I don't really try to have a conversation with them."
"Oh?" Haru asked, "You mostly talk to them outside of club?"
"I... don't really talk to them outside of club. Actually, unless it is at club, I hardly see them at all."
Haru only looked at him.
"So what? You just stand by their side without talking during the time you are not talking about your business with the club?"
Once more, Legoshi looked at her, before saying:
"Well, to tell the truth, I mostly stay on my corner and away from the others. I know how to fix electrical equipment, so I just fix the old spotlights and wiring of the club. The rest of the club just let me work in peace. I don't even change clothes with them because of... you know..."
For a long moment, Haru only looked at the hybrid, before saying:
"And you don't know why you are not close to them!?"
The way she said it caught the hybrid off guard, and Legoshi could only look at the bunny, who was now looking at him with a serious expression that nearly seemed pissed.
"What, you think that only going to the club together automatically makes you close?" Haru asked of him. "Well, sorry to rain on your parade, but that's not how it works!"
Even Ibuki and Leano were taken aback by the way that the bunny was saying that, but Haru had all her attention turned to Legoshi.
"Relationships require work! They are not easy!" Haru said to him. "It might be easy for a canine to make friends, since you like everyone you meet right away, but it is not that easy to maintain a friendship! It is the same as maintaining a girlfriend of boyfriend! It takes actual effort! You gotta make your part to keep a relationship!"
She spoke in all seriousness to the hybrid, who was still taken aback.
"B-but..." Legoshi said to her. "But we are not close..."
"How can you be when you don't try!?" Haru practically demanded of him. "How can you expect to be close to others when it seems you are trying to keep them all at away? That's the opposite of trying to make friends!"
Legoshi was really taken aback by how the bunny was acting. She looked at him for a bit more, before she sighed.
"You didn't want them to find out you're a hybrid, did you?" Haru asked, and the hybrid looked at her. He was about to answer, when she cut him.
"Well, you don't need to worry about that anymore, right? Like you said, everyone knows now. So maybe now you can stop keeping everyone at arm's length." She said to him, sounding as if she was stating a fact, and the hybrid could only look at her.
"Hm?"
"Also, about you leaving..." Haru said to him. "Are you really going to do that? Just run away from your problems before they even begin? You know, that's a pretty ballless course of action for a carnivore. You are being quite the wuss."
Ibuki had and Leano looked at the bunny. They both had a pretty good idea of where she was trying to get at.
"I mean, I understand if you want to step back and leave if things get as back as you say they were on your previous school, but running away with your tail between your legs before the problems even start? That's not very manly." Haru said to him. "Besides, if you do run away from the people who are bullying you, you will basically just give them the satisfaction of knowing they've won. That is not a good thing, in my book."
Legoshi only looked at her.
Was that... was that her way of telling him to stay in Cherryton?
"But, do whatever you want, it is your life." Haru said, "But, if you allow me to say..."
She looked at the hybrid in the eyes as she spoke the next words:
"If someone like you left the school, then it would become a lot less interesting. And also I would not have a personal helper to my garden. So, hope to see you around, I guess?"
Legoshi truly didn't knew how to answer to that. All he could do was look at the bunny with a dumb folded expression, before both of his parents got him to get up and come with them, both knowing that this was the time to let the bunny go back to her garden.
"Thank you for your time, and sorry for intruding." Ibuki said as he bowed to Haru. "We will let you to attend to your plants now."
With this, they left, and Ibuki and Leano guided Legoshi back to his dorm, where the rest of his roommates was already waiting, all of them looking through the ajar door at the three animals on the other side. For some of them, this was the first time seeing Legoshi's parents.
"You know, Jack?" Collot said, "From what you told about Ibuki-san, I was expecting him to be scarier. Maybe with a scar on his face..."
"Wow, Legoshi's mother is so pretty..." Voss said as he stood on his big hairy friend. Meanwhile, Legoshi's parents were talking to him.
"We both really think you should stay." Ibuki said to his son. "At least for a little longer. Don't give up so easily just because you are scared, okay?"
"If things get hard, you give us a call, and we will come to drive you home." Leano said, placing a hand on her son's shoulder. He went after his father on his massive size, standing as tall as him and a good head or two above Leano's. "But, until then, you hang in there. I know it is probably not the best advice I can give, but I really want you to remain strong, okay? Keep your head up."
Legoshi looked at his mother, and he nodded.
"I'll try, but..." Legoshi said, before sighing. "Sometimes it is just so hard to keep my head up while being a hybrid."
Leano could only look at her son for a few moments, before she nodded.
"I know, Legoshi... I know... that's why you need to keep trying. Do it for me, okay?"
Legoshi said he would, and with this, he bid farewell to his parents, walking into his dorm, still reflecting about everything that has happened today.
Meanwhile, Ibuki and his wife both walked out of the dorm and made their way back to their car, both unaware that a young wolf, the same age as their son, was looking at them as they departed.
"Think he will be fine?" Leano asked, to what her husband said:
"He is our son, of course he will be fine. He is every bit as strong as both of us. He is not the same small kid who came home crying every day. I can tell that he is maturing. Also, I think that now he has some good reasons to stay here in Cherryton."
"You referring to his colleagues of Drama Club?" Leano asked.
"About them..." Ibuki said "And about that bunny from the garden." Ibuki chuckled, "I guess Legoshi does takes a lot after his family, doesn't him? And he plans to add even more diversity to it..."
"Excuse me?" Leano asked, looking at her husband. Ibuki looked at her, and he said:
"Come on, Leano. I know you too noticed the look on our boy's face when that bunny said she wanted to see him around, didn't you?"
Leano said nothing. Indeed, she did saw the look on Legoshi's face as he looked at that bunny.
And she honestly didn't know how to feel about it.
Night came, a new day rose, and with it, there was a new day for all of Cherryton. A day of studies, and then of clubs.
On the male lockers, the guys were all getting ready to change clothes so they could start with club. Louis was among them, as this was one of the rare days when he chose to change his clothes with his fellow colleagues, despite his own self-consciousness about his small and thin body.
Luckily, no one was paying too much attention on Louis. They were all gathered around Kibi as the anteater looked on his tablet.
"All of those are news about hybrids?" Riz asked, looking at the screen along with everyone, as the anteater continued to scroll through the pages on the search engine and click on some links.
"Yeah, most of it is some academic works or some scientific articles online but... there are some like that." He clicked on a specific link, which opened to a page depicting the picture of a leopard with the words "HYBRID SCANDAL" over it.
"I found this article yesterday. It is about this guy who stablished a lot of records and won Olympic medals on tracking circuits." Kibi said, "He had just won a golden medal, when the coach of one of the competitors came to the judges with documents proving that he was not a purebred leopard, but that he was half-cheetah. He argued with the judges that being part cheetah gave him an unfair advantage over the other competitors, and the judges accepted. Not only they denied him his medal, but took away all the others, nullified his records and forbade him of ever participating in any track competition again."
"All for being half-cheetah?" Tao said, in shock. Everyone around him was in just as much shock. "I heard about people being denied a prize for some stupid or petty reason, but that's low!"
"There are all kinds of news like that, as well as a lot of stories." Kibi said, "Stories about people who were denied job offers, rental agreements or bank loans just because they were hybrids. Or people who were harassed by their coworkers and neighbors until they couldn't take it anymore and either left or killed themselves. And it seems that a lot of people think bad about hybrids, at least in the forums I visited since yesterday. It seems that they think hybrids are 'biological accidents' at best. And at worse, they call them 'disgusting abominations'. I found six forums online where people do nothing more than bash hybrids. Some people even say that the government should pass a law that force couples of different species to abort any possible children, just to keep new hybrids from being born."
"Man..." Was all that Bill could say, as everyone heard about what Kibi found out since what they learned about Legoshi. Hearing things like that, it was not so hard to picture a hybrid like Legoshi being picked on by the kids, and even mistreated by the adults.
"No wonder Legoshi hid from us he is a hybrid." Kibi said, "He was probably really scared of being mistreated again... he probably still is."
Everyone was silent as they took that in. All of them remembered Legoshi. They remembered how sad he looked as he remembered the time when he was bullied.
That was when the door of the locker rooms opened, and a familiar face entered.
"Legoshi! You came!" Kibi said, as the hybrid stood there, with his trademark hoodie with him, looking at them.
"Hi, guys." The hybrid said shily.
"So, you decided to stay, didn't you?" Louis said, walking to Legoshi and standing before him. The hybrid looked down.
"That's good." Louis said to Legoshi, surprising the hybrid carnivore. "It would be bad to lose a club member in a moment like that. Now get changed, we have things to do."
Louis tapped Legoshi's shoulder, before exiting the lockers. Legoshi then proceeded to do as Louis said.
Legoshi had never changed with the other guys before. However, he still remembered what Haru and Els both said to him, about how they all knew now.
Oh, what the heck? Legoshi thought, as he proceeded to start getting changed. He removed his hoodie, revealing his mane, and then he removed his shirt, revealing his lower scaly arms, as they uncrossed from over his stomach, as the hybrid stretched them.
It kind of felt strange to change clothes with the guys in there. Legoshi could feel their eyes on him.
"So, guess you are really not fat, are you, Legoshi?" Bill said. Legoshi flinched as he heard that. He turned to Bill, ready to tell him that he didn't wanted trouble... and then he saw Bill with a very friendly expression looking at him.
"Well, that's really good for you!" Bill said, maybe a bit more friendly than he needed. "Man, look at those muscles, dude! You certainly do a good job taking care of yourself."
Legoshi blinked, a bit taken aback.
"Uhh, thanks?" Legoshi said, and then everyone else was talking to him, all of them telling him how strong he was, and how his mane looked cool, and how they also wished they had four arms.
This... was not something Legoshi was expecting.
And it was certainly not a bad thing.
Actually, Legoshi kind of felt good for knowing that everyone seemed to like being around him and was not being dismissive or hostile.
They were kind of reminded him how Tem had always been...
"Guys..." Legoshi said, looking at them all. "Thank you."