Preparations for the upcoming festival were in full gear. Everyone was getting ready for the festivities. Especially Drama Club, which was playing a special part on the festival with a show to be performed by their best dancers.
However, as it does happen with a lot of things in life, sometimes there were blocks on the road to get the work done.
In this case, the block was the recent predation incident, which made the authorities of the school decide that it was better if the herbivore students remained on school grounds for the foreseeable future.
The carnivores, on the other hand...
"So, you want us to go to the city tomorrow and talk to the organizers of the festival?" Aoba asked, as he, Tao, Bill and Legoshi all looked up at Louis and Sano. They both nodded, saying that this was exactly it.
Ellen and the flying squirrel from the Sound Team were in there as well, and they both wanted to go to the city, since they had, like many of the other students, been cooped on the school for months due to the school time, and would love to have a chance to go to the city and see more animals.
However, Louis was categorical on how they would not be going, as the school thought it would be safer for herbivores to remain on the school for a few more days before they deemed it safe for them to be allowed going to the city.
"They think it will be better." Louis said, "After all, we are not as propense to fight as carnivores." He was looking at Bill and Legoshi, specifically, when he said those words. The hybrid shrunk a little, pulling his hoodie closer over his head. Bill, on his end, glared back at the deer while grumbling to himself.
"It will be an easy job, don't worry." Sano said to them. "You just need to have a meeting with the organizers and discuss our club's part on the festivities. This will help us plan for the event and make sure everything goes smoothly. You should take less than a day to do that."
"Well, if it means going to the city, then I am in." Bill said, "I've been wanting to buy a new manga for a while."
Yeah, that was Bill being Bill, always trying to be the optimist about things.
"Well, anyways, hope you all can deal with it." Louis said to them, before turning around and leaving. As he was just about to leave, he looked at them over his shoulder:
"Oh, and one more thing..." He said, looking at the carnivores with a serious expression, "Don't any of you even think of going to the Black Market."
This caused Legoshi to perk his head and look at the deer. Louis, however, didn't noticed, as he had already got out of the room, leaving Sano to talk to the four of them alone, before he dismissed the carnivores for them to go back to their dorms.
"Man, going to the city!" Tao said, "I haven't been there in months!"
"None of us has." Aoba said, "It will, be nice being there."
"Yeah, it will. Even if Louis told us not to go to the Black Market." Bill said, with his hands behind his back as he walked. "That's a bummer, ain't that right, Legoshi?"
The hybrid, however, looked at the tiger with surprise.
"Bummer?" He asked, seeming confused, "What do you mean?"
"What? You don't want to go there?" Bill asked, and this left the hybrid even more confused.
"Why would I?" He said, sounding nearly alarmed as he looked at Bill with surprise. "The Black Market is a bad place!"
"Huh?"
"What?"
"The Black Market is a place where good animals should not go!" Legoshi said to them. "Only bad animals go in there! Honestly, I don't know why Louis even told us not to go there. I mean, why would we?"
Now the entire group was looking at Legoshi. They all seemed surprised.
"What?" Legoshi said, looking at all of them. The animals then shared a look.
"Dude... you got it all wrong." Bill said to Legoshi, and the hybrid looked at him.
"Eh?"
"Legoshi... the Black Market is..." Aoba said, and he seemed as if he was looking for the wrong words to say. "It is a place where carnivores go... All carnivores. Or most of them."
Legoshi looked at him in shock.
"That's right!" Bill said to him, "Going to the Black Market is practically a passage rite! You are not a full-grown carnivore until you have gone there at least once! That's just how things go. Seriously, you never heard of it?"
Legoshi could only stare at the tiger.
Was... was that true?
Did this mean... his parents...?
"I mean, okay, it might not be the nicest place in town, but saying it is a bad place where only bad animals go?" Bill said, "Who told you that load of garbage? Was it some herbivore?"
Legoshi looked at him, and he said:
"It was my dad..."
"Legoshi..." Ibuki said, as he was sitting on a bench on the park. His son, a ten-years-old hybrid, was sitting by his side, drinking from a juice-box with a straw. He looked up at his father, and saw that the lion was looking forward, with a serious expression on his face.
"My son, you are old enough to understand a few things about the world." Ibuki said, as he looked at the distance, at the sky-scrappers that rose from the city and were visible from the park they were in. "There are some you will only be ready to understand when you are a little older, but there are some of them that you need to understand now."
Legoshi looked at the lion, seeing him so serious made the hybrid a little scared. Them, his father lifted his hand.
"Over there..." He said, pointing at the buildings, "Somewhere in the city, there is a place. A place that is hidden in plain sight. A place full of shadows. A place called Black Market."
Little Legoshi blinked, looking up at his father.
"Black... Market?"
"Yes." Ibuki said, "It is a dangerous place. A bad place. A place where bad things happen."
His dad was so serious... Legoshi knew that he meant business when he got serious like that.
"W-what kind of bad things?" Legoshi asked, and Ibuki, after a few moments of silence, shook his head.
"That is something you will only be ready to understand once you are a little older." Ibuki said to him, "For now, you just have to understand that it is the kind of place where you should not go."
He turned to look at his son and looked at him dead in the eye.
"Do you hear me, Legoshi? You must avoid going to the Black Market at all costs. And if you ever get lost and accidentally enter there, you need to find your way out as quickly as possible. Don't talk to anyone while in there and don't accept anything anyone offers you. Just get out as fast as you can and don't try to come back for any reason. Do you understand me?"
Legoshi shrunk a little. Ibuki noticed this and realized that he was probably being a little to incisive. He tuned down a little.
"The Black Market... is full of bad animals. In fact, there is only bad animals in there." He said, in a gentler tone, but keeping his seriousness. "It is a place where good animals should not go. You are a good animal, aren't you, Legoshi?"
"Yes, I am!" Legoshi said quickly, looking up at his father. Ibuki nodded.
"Then you do good to avoid the Black Market completely." He said, and he then looked back at the city, in a distance.
"Good animals... should keep clear from a place so horrible... only bad animals belong there."
Legoshi looked up at his dad, who only continued to look at the distance, at something that apparently only he could see...
That was a conversation that Legoshi never forgot. Mostly because, during the time they had it, his father was serious as Legoshi had only see him a few times on his life.
He knew that his father meant business when he talked about the Black Market, and how it was really a place where good animals should not go.
And now he heard from Bill and the others that all carnivores went there...
That made the hybrid confused enough that he had trouble going to sleep. Still, he somehow managed to fall into slumber.
On the following morning, he and the others were all out of their uniforms and into more regular clothes. Legoshi was wearing a gray jacked, and the hood was pulled tight over his head to make sure his entire mane was hidden. Cherryton might already know of his hybrid nature, but the rest of the city didn't, and Legoshi was not keen on divulging that information to the world.
Not yet, at least.
So, he had the hood pulled over his head as they were on the train and at the station, before making their way into the city.
And boy, what a sight it was.
All of them looked around in amazement, as this was the first time they were into the big city.
"Man, all of the birds are flying..." Aoba said, looking upwards, seeing a hawk flying over the heads of the many animals who walked below. "Man, I am so jealous..."
Legoshi looked at him.
"You... you can't fly?" Legoshi asked, to what Aoba explained to him that you needed a special license to be allowed to fly, just like you needed to drive, and that you were only allowed to try for the license once you graduated high school.
"Man, this place is great!" Bill said, "Say, what about we deal with this shit and then just go look for something to do?"
"Sano-senpai told is to go back to school as soon as we got that dealt with." Legoshi reminded Bill, with the tiger complaining about him being "no fun". However, truth was that Legoshi was not really opposed to spending some time on the city.
He rarely got out of Cherryton when he was in there. To be honest, the only times he left the school was when it was summer, and he would go back home to spend the months of vacation with his family. That was when he could play with his sisters and they would often go visit his grandpa on his apartment.
Being out there in the city felt... nice. Legoshi could not help but look around and notice all the animals in there. Herbivores and carnivores alike. And they were all happy. All of them were getting along. No matter the species, all of them got along with no problems.
As if none of that mattered.
Legoshi's tail would be wagging if it was a wolf's...
"...And then, all of a sudden, she said 'you are a selfish bastard! You only care about satisfying yourself when we have sex, and that makes me feel cheap and empty!' and she just ran off crying! Can you guys believe that?" Bill asked, as he and the others ate their snacks. They had stopped for lunch, and they agreed to split the bill that would come. Meanwhile, the tiger would not stop bragging about his girl, and how he "scored high" with her.
"Man, she is so moody!" Bill said to them, "Seriously, she makes a scene like that every week before calling me on the following day crying and saying that she was 'having a bad day' and asking me to go on a date with her! Seriously, I think there is something wrong with her hormones. If it wasn't for the stripes on her butt being so beautiful, I would have broken up with her a long time ago..."
"Wow. You really are a fan of stripes, aren't you?" Aoba asked, to what Bill's answer was:
"Hey, of course I am! I am a tiger! Stripes are important! They might not be everything, but they are pretty important. If a girl has nice stripes on her body, then I'll definitely give her a go!"
Legoshi had been hearing this, and he felt a little uncomfortable. Girls was a subject where he felt a little out of place, and the way Bill was talking made him a bit uneasy. He was talking as if women were snacks which he could try and then throw the rest of it out if he didn't like. It was kind of creepy.
"Seriously, I already had three different girlfriends since I started in Cherryton, and all of them had the most beautiful stripes you have ever seen!" Bill said to them, bragging. Legoshi looked at him, and then, he asked a question that popped on his head suddenly:
"Have you been with Ellen?"
Bill looked at him, and so did the other two.
"Wait, Ellen? You mean your club's zebra Ellen?"
"Yes." Legoshi said, very casually, and he looked at the rest of them, seeing the way they were all staring at him. "What? She has stripes too, doesn't she? You don't find her attractive?"
"Dude, she is an herbivore!" Bill said.
"So what?" Legoshi asked, as if he truly didn't understand the point Bill was trying to make. He only continued to look at him. "Just because she is an herbivore, her stripes are less beautiful?"
Bill... honestly didn't had an answer for that.
"I... I mean... It doesn't..." He said, feeling a bit flustered, before he recomposed himself.
"Well, I guess I would have to see her stripes first and... I've never really seemed her naked."
"You want to see her naked?" Legoshi asked, and Bill then, suddenly, said the first thing he could think about to try and change the subject:
"Hey guys, have I told you that, among tigers, stripes are even part of our marriage traditions?"
"Really?" Tao asked, genuinely interested, and not only going along with Bill's plot to change the subject and avoid this awkward conversation that Legoshi just started.
"Yeah, really!" Bill said, "When a guy wants to marry a girl, he pulls out his sleeve and shows the stripes of his arm. Then the girl answers by showing the stripes on her own arm and they align stripes as a symbol of one becoming part of the other. It is a symbol on how they will forever be one, no matter what comes their way."
"You mean... like the superstition of couples being together forever if they light a candle together during the meteor festival?" Legoshi asked.
"A bit more serious than that." Bill said, and then he remembered something, which made him chuckle.
"You know, there is this story that my mom told be about when she was just a cub." Bill said, looking at his friends. "About this other, older tiger girl who lived next-door to them, and one day started dating a wolf."
"Wait, for real?" Aoba asked, and everyone was now paying close attention to the tiger.
"Yeah, she was totally into that mutt!" Bill said, narrating the story as his mother told to him. "Her parents were not happy with it. They were old-time cats, the kind who hate dogs. They were not amused that one was banging their daughter."
"So, he was with her only for sex?" Legoshi asked, but Bill shook his head.
"No, he was totally into her too!" The tiger explained, "He actually went to their house to ask for her hand in marriage. But, her parents said no. They told him that, since he was not a tiger, he didn't had stripes, so he could not make a proper marriage proposal by offering the stripes of his arm's stripes to align with hers'. Wolf guy could not answer to that, and he left with his tail between his legs."
"Oh..." Legoshi said. This... was not a happy ending for the story.
"So, it ended in that?" To asked, and Bill answered:
"Well, everyone thought it was... until two days later, when the wolf came back."
Bill leaned over, looking at everyone as he spoke the next part:
"The dog had tattooed stripes on himself! Not only on his arm, on his entire body! On his head, his legs, down his neck and back, even on his ass! The guy gave himself a full-body tiger stripe tattoo just so he could please her parents and make a proposal as they wanted him to! Now that is commitment!"
"Wow..." Was all that Tao could manage to say
"Yeah, that's totally hardcore!" Bill said, "And I gotta admit is romantic too. I bet the music 'Our Matching Souls' is actually about this. The Urban Beasts must have heard the story and wrote a song about it. I mean, it sounds similar enough."
Bill then turned to Legoshi.
"Ever heard that song, Legoshi?" He asked, and Legoshi shook his head. In fact, he didn't know any of that band's songs. Bill, not being able to take it, pulled out his phone and a pair of earbuds and made sure to put them on the hybrid's ears.
"Hey, this music is pretty good!" Legoshi said, and Bill said a "told yah".
"Seriously, dude. How have you never heard of the Urban Beasts before?" Bill asked him, as the hybrid continued to hear the song, bobbing his head slightly to the rhythm. "They are just one of the best bands ever!"
"Seriously, the guys are the best." Aoba said, "And their lead singer has the most beautiful voice..."
"Yeah, she has." Legoshi said, as he heard the female voice singing the lines of this romantic song while accompanied by at least four instruments. "She reaches some pretty high notes. Is she a bird or something?"
"Well, she might as well be." Aoba said, "Who knows?"
"Eh? You don't know the species of the lead singer?" Legoshi asked, surprised, and then Tao said:
"No one knows the species of any of the five members. They never made a public appearance. They only post their songs and launch their CDs, and whenever they make a live show online, they only transmit audio, so no one knows what they even look like. Heck, no one even knows their names!"
"But, I do know that at least one of them is a tiger." Bill said.
"Oh, that again?" Aoba asked.
"Hey, it is a valid guess! I mean, the lead singer said once on an online interview that she and the bassist compose all the songs together! And the song Our Matching Souls is basically about marks that match, like the stripe-matching tradition of tigers! I am sure that one of the two is a tiger! Maybe even both!"
While the others continued to talk about Bill's tiger theory, Legoshi continued to hear the song. He also heard another one, this one was a song was called "I Am the One", and it was about achieving victory over all odds, and it had a more aggressive tone than the previous one, but it was just as upbeat.
Wow, they were really good. And their lead singer had such a beautiful voice... and she sounded... familiar...
"What about you, pal?" Bill asked, pulling one of the earbuds off Legoshi's ear to he could talk with the hybrid "Ever thought about putting on a tattoo to try and impress a girl?"
"Oh, no!" Legoshi said quickly. "I can't get a tattoo, my parents would kill me! Seriously, dad said that if I came back home with a tattoo he would not let me in the house anymore. He said he would put my bed outside and I'd have to sleep on the garden..."
"Dude, your dad sounds like loads of fun." Aoba said, and Bill pressed own.
"But seriously, I think that you could think of something to try and get the girls' attention." Bill said to him. "Then it would finally solve that problem of yours. Seriously, you reek of virginity so bad it's embarrassing."
Legoshi looked away as he blushed. How did Bill even know? Could... could he actually smell it? No, that could not be it. Legoshi had a much better sense of smell than him and he still never smelled someone's virginity.
What did virginity even smell like?
Bill, on his end, smirked to himself as he saw the reaction of the hybrid. This was his payback for nearly embarrassing him with that talk about Ellen's stripes.
"Hey, don't be like that." Bill said to him. "If you want, I can help you with that. I am pretty popular myself."
"Well, Legoshi is pretty popular too." Aoba said, and the hybrid looked his way.
"I... I am?"
"Well, you are since the play." The eagle said to him. "I heard that a lot of girls were impressed about your skills on the stage. Apparently kicking Bill around is a huge turn on."
"Watch it, feather chops." Bill said with a smirk to Aoba, and the eagle just continued:
"I also heard someone say that the female lions liked you a lot. Something to do with your mane."
Legoshi looked away, pulling the hoodie closer to his head and looking at the people around, as if to see if anyone was looking his way. However, his friends were all quickly to support him, telling him that his mane was nice and that this was why the lion girls were all over him.
"Like the lioness who just joined." Bill said, "I mean, she would not stop looking at you all the time, and she asked you to show her around."
"Oh, yeah, Kiira." Legoshi said, showing that he remembered her name, and Bill smirked at him.
"And let me tell you, I have caught her sneaking glances at you every chance she got." Bill informed to the hybrid. "I even heard Sano say that she is asking to becoming a stagehand because she wants to spend more time around you. Guess you really gave her a good impression when 'showing her around', didn't you?"
Legoshi looked at him, and then he looked away. He knew what Bill was probably thinking, and he wanted to correct him. However, he knew he could not.
He could not just go and tell him, or anyone else on the club, that Kiira was a hybrid too. She was still wearing her mask all the time on the club, and it would not be fair to do that with her after she trusted him with her secret.
Legoshi would let her tell the others herself, if she ever felt like it.
He kind of hoped she did...
"Well, if you need any hints of how to get to her, you can ask me." Bill said proudly to the hybrid.
"Or maybe he can ask Ibuki-san." Aoba asked. "I bet your dad already gave you a lot of advices about girls."
Legoshi looked at them, and then he looked down.
"Actually, he never did. I... never really liked any girl. And the girls didn't really seemed interested in me. Because, you know? The whole hybrid stuff."
He said the last part in a low voice, as if not to let anyone around hear. The others did notice that Legoshi was still sensitive about this kind of thing. However, they decided to proceed with the conversation.
"Well, I bet he had a lot of girls back before he settled down with your mom." Tao asked, "I mean, he looks strong, so I bet he was popular."
"Yeah, hadn't he ever told you anything about any past girlfriend?" Bill asked, and then Legoshi shook his head.
"No. He doesn't." Legoshi said to them. "Actually... dad never speaks about what he did before meeting mom."
"He doesn't?" Aoba asked, and Legoshi shook his head.
"I tried asking him about his school, or if he had old friends, but he always got upset. So, I just stopped asking." Legoshi said, "I actually haven't heard him talk about his past in all the time I've known him..."
"So... since you were born?" Bill asked. However, Legoshi once more shook his head, surprising them.
"I only met dad when I was five." He told them. "It was my birthday, and then mom came in with this lion I had never seen before. She told me that, for my birthday, my dad finally came back, and we could be a family."
"Came back? He was away?" Tao asked.
"Wait, where was he for five years?" Bill asked, and Legoshi shrugged.
"He and mom never told me. But, I think he may have been away for a good reason. I mean, they did made it sound important. As if he was solving something serious, and that he could only come back after it was solved." The hybrid said to his friends, "But... I think it might have something to do with P.O."
The others were confused.
P.O.?
"It was a contact on my dad's phone." Legoshi explained. "I saw it a few times. I asked him about it, but he just said it was a person that he needed to speak with, and that I should not worry about it."
There was a brief silence, before one of them asked:
"Maybe he is a friend from his past?"
"Does it have anything to do with where he was for five years?"
Legoshi shrugged. He had no idea. He told them that he didn't knew any friends that his dad used to have from his past, and that, as far as he knew, his dad's only actual friend was Sagwan-san, some spotted seal that he was apparently besties with and with whom he sometimes went with to the public baths.
"Wait. Sea creatures can speak our language?" Tao asked, "I thought they could only talk Seaspeak."
"Sagwan is a spotted seal." Legoshi said, "They are special. They are one of the smartest animals of the sea, and the rest of the sea respects them a lot. That's what Sawgan-san told us, at least. He used to babysit me and my sisters when my parents were both going out at the same time. Or when they were celebrating their anniversary." Legoshi said to them. "He taught us all Seaspeak. Well, he tried, in my case. The girls are better at it than me. But, I did learned enough that I get good grades about it in the exams. And he always brings those packages to dad that smell really nice."
Legoshi did had found memories of the smiling spotted seal. He had known him for years, and the seal was practically family at this point. Legoshi and the twins even called him "Uncle Sagwan". He certainly was like an uncle to them.
Everyone was, of course, interested on the subject of Legoshi's family having a spotted seal as an uncle.
"Man, that family of yours is pretty interesting." Bill mentioned, as he asked if Legoshi had any other uncles or cousins, to what Legoshi shook his head. His mother didn't had siblings, and his father... well, he never talked about his family as well, same as the rest of his past...
Soon, they were done eating, and the they paid and resumed their job. It was over quickly than they expected, and now they could go back home.
Just one problem: they were not used to go into the city. As a result of this, they found it hard to find their way back to the train station. Was it the left they had taken? Or was it the right?
They tried to find their way back, but it felt as if they were only getting further away from path the more they walked.
Damn, walking on the streets was so much different from walking across campus!
"Yeah, guess we are lost." Tao said, stating a fact. "We should have turned right..."
"Hey, Aoba, don't you have an inner compass or something?" Bill asked, "Can't you point the right direction?"
"Yeah, that's migratory birds. Eagles are not included on that."
"Where even are we?" Legoshi asked, as he looked around the neighborhood that they somehow made their way into. He noticed that the street was dirtier, and the buildings were all dilapidated, with cracks on their walls and looking otherwise worn-down. There were stains and garbage all around that alley, and the walls were covered in graffiti.
And there was this... smell in the air. It was hard to tell what it was due to the smell of garbage, which was a little overpowering, but it smelled familiar to Legoshi, and it gave him a bad feeling.
"Guys, I think we should leave this place." Legoshi said, "Like, right now."
"And go where?" Aoba asked, "We don't even know where the train station is."
"Hey, maybe he knows." Tao said as he pointed at a corner, where someone was sitting with a blanket draped over his shoulders, covering his body. That old man looked like a hobo, but maybe he could give them some information, and Legoshi really hoped this information would get them out of there.
"Uhh, excuse me, sir?" Legoshi said, coming closer to the man, and the elderly herbivore looked up to him... well, "looking" was maybe a stretch, as both of his eyes were of a dull coloration, certainly with vision loss due to old age.
"I... just wanted to ask you a question..." Legoshi said, not wanting to scare the man, who then, despite the apparent blindness on his eyes, looked straight at the face of the carnivore crouching before him. His nose twitched, and then he spoke:
"You... have a curious smell, young man..."
Legoshi tensed a bit. Well, it was to be expected for him to have a unique smell, considering his mixed species. However, the hybrid ignored it, and he was about to ask the man for directions, before the man cut him off by saying:
"Doesn't matter. I know why you're here."
He then lifted his hands, showing his fingers to Legoshi.
Or, the fingers he still had left.
Legoshi was horrified. However, his horror only grew when he realized that the places where the missing fingers were smelled like the saliva and sweat of carnivores.
D-does his fingers have... price tags on them?
"Chose a finger." The man said, "Any finger you want."
That was when a truck that was in there moved, opening space to what seemed to be a bazar.
One where all the stands had meat.
They were at the Black Market.
The one place on the entire city where herbivore meat was sold as a produce to be consumed by the carnivores.
"You... you are a wolf, aren't you?" The man said, as he reached out for Legoshi's muzzle, running his hands with missing fingers over them. "Yes, you certainly do have a strong bite. And such big teeth you have. Yes, you can certainly bite off one of my fingers in one go. Please, do so. It is very painful when they can't bite it out in a single... a single..."
The man trailed off. Legoshi was frozen as his brain was trying to process what was happening. He barely noticed that the man's hands had wandered inside of his hood.
"You... do you have... mane?"
Legoshi blinked. Looking at the elderly herbivore's surprised expression. However, before he could say anything, he was roughly pushed out of the way by Bill.
"Hey, old man!" The tiger said, leaning over and placing a hand on the man's shoulder. "Your finger! If I pay, I can eat it, right? It is mine once I buy it, right?"
Legoshi blinked, recovering from what just happened as he heard the words coming out of Bill's mouth.
"Guys!" Bill said cheerfully, as he turned to the others. "We can buy his finger and eat it!"
Legoshi, on his end, was absolutely horrified.
"Bill! What are you saying!?"
"We can all pitch in!" Bill said to them, "It is a little expensive, but if we put our money together, we can buy the finger and each one of us can have a bite! That will work great!"
Legoshi didn't thought it was great. Not at all. In fact, he was mortified.
Did Bill really wanted to eat someone's finger!? Hadn't he learned his lesson with the whole gazelle blood incident!?
"So, what do you guys say! You in?" Bill asked, and Legoshi was quick to answer:
"NO! WE ARE NOT IN!"
That was practically a roar, which not only startled the three, but also caused a lot of the carnivores around them to look their way. Legoshi, however, didn't cared. He was too focused on Bill.
"Screw you, Bill!" Legoshi said to him. "How can you want to do something like that!? Do you know how wrong that is!? We should not even be here in the first place! Let's just leave, now!"
"Hey, Legoshi..." Tao said, looking around. "Please, don't be so loud, people are staring..."
Legoshi then turned to the other carnivores and yelled at them all.
"And what is wrong with all of YOU!?" The hybrid yelled at all those carnivores he never saw before on his life. "Are you seriously buying someone else's flesh!? Are you all psychos or something!?"
"Hey! Chill out!" Bill said, approaching Legoshi, only for the hybrid to bare his fangs at him. "Will you stop being such a moralist!?"
"We need to leave this place!" Legoshi said, "I can't believe you want to eat someone's finger! You are sick!"
"Say that again!" Bill said at him. That was when Aoba intervened. Legoshi thought that Aoba would agree with him, but he was shocked that the eagle was actually on Bill's side!
"Legoshi, I understand your point." Aoba said to the shocked hybrid. "If we were in school, or in any other place, I'd totally agree with you, but here..." He looked around, at all the carnivores in there. "This is the Black Market. It exist just so carnivores like us can eat meat. It is the very purpose of it. So... I am sorry, but it is how it is."
"Totally, dude!" Bill said, as Legoshi looked at his friends, seeing that not only Aoba, but Tao too were on Bill's side.
He was all alone in there.
"I mean, you saw all of those carnivores in the city, no? You saw how happy and calm they all were? That is all thanks to the Black Market."
Was... was that true? All those carnivores in there? The reason they were all happy and peaceful, smiling and laughing alongside the herbivores... was it all because...?
"Honestly, Legoshi, you should just grow up." Bill said to him. "Everyone comes to the Black Market. I bet even your parents do."
Legoshi's eyes widened.
No...
"Yeah, I can totally see Ibuki bringing your mum here for a nice romantic dinner. Maybe for their anniversary." Bill said that to the hybrid. Not noticing that the elderly herbivore, who had been quiet as the four teens discussed, suddenly perked as he heard that.
"Take that back!" Legoshi said, lunging forward and grabbing Bill the the collar of his shirt. "My parents would never do it! Not my mom! And definitely not my dad! They are good people! They would never come here! Ever!"
Legoshi was glaring at Bill, and Bill was glaring back at him, both of them baring their fangs as if preparing to have a fight. Tao and Aoba shared a look, and they were ready to break the two of them apart, when:
"Your... dad?" The elderly man said, "You mean... Ibuki?"
Legoshi blinked, and both him and Bill looked at the old man, who was getting to his feet. His blind eyes were turned forward, as if looking at the two carnivores.
"My boy... are you really... Ibuki's son?" He asked, and this caused Legoshi to blink as he looked at the old man.
"D-do you..." Legoshi said, "... know my dad?"
"If I know him?" The old man asked. "Ibuki was the first carnivore to eat one of my fingers!"
Legoshi blinked. His mind went blank as he heard that. Meanwhile, the old herbivore continued:
"Oh, my. It was so long ago!" He said, stepping forward. "But I still remember it. He around your age. Maybe a little younger. He had a rough day and wanted something to make himself feel better."
No.
"I was needing money, so I offered him one of my fingers for a reasonable price. He took the offer right away."
No.
"He was so happy for eating one of my fingers. He had such a satisfied smile on his face as he chewed on it..."
NO!
"You!" Legoshi said, forgetting about Bill and lunging at the old man instead, grabbing him by the shirt.
"What are you saying!?" The hybrid demanded, as he easily lifted the elderly herbivore from the ground. "What are you saying about my father!? That he ate your finger!? There's no way I'll believe that! I know my dad! He would never do it! Why are you lying!?"
"Legoshi!"
"Legoshi, what are you doing!?"
"Legoshi, stop!"
The three all tried to stop him, while Legoshi shook the old man like a ragdoll, before finally tossing him and making him land heavily into the ground. During this, his hood fell back.
"Hey!"
"What's wrong with that guy?"
"Think he is addicted?"
"Those kids nowadays..."
"Wait...does that wolf has a mane?"
Legoshi was panting as he glared at the old man, who weakly got up, while all the carnivores were now looking his way.
"He does!"
"Is he a hybrid?"
"Eww, gross!"
"Wait, didn't they said that the guy's father's name is Ibuki?"
"Is that Ibuki's son?"
"Ibuki!? That Ibuki?"
"The one who ran off with the female wolf!?"
"No way!"
"Uhh, Legoshi...?" Tao said, as he looked around, at all the carnivores looking their way now. Some of them had angry glares on their faces. "I think those guys know your dad..."
No. They didn't.
They could not know his dad.
They were all bad people for being in there. There was no way any of them knew his dad. This would imply that the old man was saying the truth. That his father was ever even in that place before.
This couldn't be.
It just couldn't.
"Hey, kid." Said someone, causing the hybrid to look up. There were now three Kodiak bears standing before him and his friends. They all looked down at the four of them, and then the one in the middle, which had a scar on the side of his face, said:
"Are you really Ibuki's son? For real?"
Legoshi looked up at him.
"You... actually know my father?" Legoshi asked, and the bear shared a look with his brothers, before looking back at him and saying:
"I heard of him. But, one around here has seen him in years."
Legoshi looked up at him. And the bear, seeing the look on his face, said:
"You want me to tell you about him? I can, if you want. But, not in here. Too many people. Your dad is not exactly popular around here. Follow me."
"Yeah, like he is going to- Legoshi!" Bill was saying, and the hybrid, not caring about what he was saying, followed the three bears to an alley on the side of the road. His friends were a bit stunned, but they quickly went after the hybrid.
"Dude, what are you doing!?" Bill asked Legoshi, as he and the others caught up with the hybrid and the three bears.
"Why are you following them to this dark alley!?" Bill asked of the wolf. "Stranger danger means anything to you!? I mean, okay, they are just bears, but you can't just follow strangers into an alley where no one can see you!"
As Bill talked, the three bears stopped.
"You know, hybrid?" The scar-marked bear said, turning to look at Legoshi. "Your tiger friend is right."
Before Legoshi could react, the bear grabbed him and them slammed him into the wall, holding him in place by grabbing one of his arms and twisting it behind the hybrid's back, keeping his chest pressed against the wall.
"Legoshi!" Tao called out, but the second of the bears moved forward, and grabbed both him and Aoba by the throats, slamming them into the wall and holding them in place.
"Hey!" Bill said, but the final bear was faster, and he lunged at Bill, punching him hard into the face and sending him to the ground, before placing a knee on his back to keep him down.
"G-get off!" Bill said as he squirmed. However, he stopped squirming as soon as something shiny and polished flashed before his face, showing him his own reflection.
"So..." The bear said, with a wicked grin like that of his brothers as he flashed the blade of his hunting knife to the tiger. "We are 'just bears', right? Well, I bet you wouldn't mind lending your skin to those bears, would you?"
The bear pulled Bill's shirt up, revealing his stripped back.
"Do you know how much a tiger skin in good conditions costs around this area?" He asked, pinning Bill to the ground even though the tiger tried to free himself. "And you got some nice-looking stripes, kid. That skin of yours will certainly sell for a lot."
"Forget the stupid tiger!" The scar-faced brother said, as he continued to hold Legoshi against the wall. "This one is the real prize. It is Ibuki's son! You know, never thought that you would be dumb enough to come to the one place in the city where everyone hate's that stupid lion!"
Legoshi squirmed, trying to free himself from the bear, but the much bigger carnivore continued to hold him in place, rendering Legoshi unable to do anything to free himself, just like his three friends, being held the two other bears.
Those guys were all freakishly strong...
"You know, the bounty is over that snitch's head." The bear said to the hybrid. "But I bet the Shishigumi will also pay a fortune for his freak of a son's."
Legoshi groaned as he struggled, while the bear behind him was moving a hand in direction to his neck. However, before he could touch it, something passed dangerously close to his face and embedded itself into the wall, startling him.
Everyone looked in that direction to see that the object was... an arrow made of bamboo?
"Hey, you!" Said a voice, causing everyone to look at that direction, to see a panda with a crossbow looking at him. He held the weapon with one hand, while the other hand was holding a chain connected to the neck of a stripped hyena who had his hands tied behind his back and a muzzle fitted on his face.
"You guys having fun in there?" The panda asked, "Mind if I crash that little party?"
"Who the heck are you!?" Said the leader of the bears. "Some kind of pervert!? Mind your own business, old man! Go look for that BDSM club for you and that mutt of yours have fun! We are doing some serious business in here!"
As the bear said that, he looked at the panda while using only one hand to hold Legoshi against the wall. This proved to be a mistake for, while he looked at the panda, the hybrid he was pressed against the wall revealed the two extra arms he had hidden under his clothes.
With those four arms, Legoshi was able to pull himself out of the wall and was able to spin himself around and punch that bear right in the snout.
Bears had a lot of nerves on their noses and punching into them was a good way to get to them. This was something his dad taught him when teaching him how to fight. And, true to his word, a single blow to that bear's nose was enough to make him step back, nearly stumbling down.
As he did, however, he gripped Legoshi's arm with two hands, digging his claws into them and dragging them across the skin, opening deep cut's on Legoshi's arm, which were enough to make the hybrid hiss and grind his teeth in pain.
The bear looked at him after shaking his head, and he saw the extra scaly arms.
"What the fu-" He tried to say, but them another bamboo arrow came, hitting the ground just by the fallen Kodiak's feet.
"Okay, I think you missed the point in here!" Gouhin said to the bear. "Beat it! You and your brothers! Leave, now!"
The threat of being hit with an arrow was too great to ignore, and the three bears soon were getting up and leaving, and the four young men were all getting up. Except for the hybrid, who had fallen to his knees as he was holding his bleeding arm.
"Legoshi!" Tao said, as he and the others rushed to him. As soon as they were close, they saw how profusely his arm was bleeding.
"Shit, he must have got an artery." The panda said, as he took came closer without the others seeing and looked at all the blood. "We gotta have it treated. You all, come with me."
"Hey, wait a sec!" Bill said, looking at the panda with mistrust. "Who are you?"
"I am probably the only person in the whole Black Market that will be willing to help the hybrid son of Ibuki the Lion. Now, you can come with me to my clinic to have your friend treated before he bleeds out, or you can try your luck with the rest of the Market. But, since we don't really have time, I recommend you come with me. My clinic is not far from here." The panda said, and he tugged on the chain on the neck of the hyena. "And you come too!"
As they carried Legoshi while going after the panda, Aoba asked:
"Who is that hyena?"
To what the panda answered:
"My new patient."
And he didn't say another word as he guided the four boys and the hyena in chains all the way into a building with the words "CAT-BEAR CLINIC" on the front. They walked inside and they were received by a female bunny and a male alpaca, both around the four carnivores' age and dressed as nurses, who were quickly greeting the panda.
"We got one for therapy and one needing some stitches on his arm." The panda said to the two of them, as he pushed the hyena to the alpaca, who nodded saying 'yes, Gouhin-san' as he guided the hyena, who was drooling buckets through his muzzle, into a hallway. As he did, he passed by a female leopard with a green dress and a white purse under her arm.
She looked at them go, before going to Gouhin, and he talked to her, offering her a pack of pills, telling her to contact him if she needs more. She thanked him and, with a miserable expression on her face, she left, moving past the boys, who looked at her depart, before the panda urged them to come with him so they could have their friend treated.
Soon, they were in a room, with Legoshi sitting on a stretcher while the bunny worked on his arm. She was impressed with who little the hybrid was even flinching, as he had refused anesthesia. He just remained there as the bunny stitched his arm, making sure those wounds would not infect and would scar properly.
"I can't believe those guys wanted to take my skin!" Bill said as he sat on a chair that the panda provided. "They're complete pyschos!"
"Well, not so much." The panda said, causing Bill and his friends to look at him. "You are healthy and doesn't seem to have any scar on your body. A pelt like yours really would fetch for quite the generous price. Someone would make a fine rug out of it."
Bill could only look at the panda, and so could Aoba and Tao.
"First time on the Black Market, no?" The panda asked the two of them. "Yeah, I figured as much. First timers often make the mistake of assuming being carnivores is enough to keep them safe around this area."
"But... shouldn't we be?" Bill asked, looking at the older animal. "I mean, this place exists to allow carnivores to eat meat!"
"This place exists because of a loophole on the law regarding predation." The panda said to the tiger with a severe expression. "The law clearly states that predation is defined as 'eating the flesh from the body of an animal while still alive or that has just been killed by the perpetrator'. It says nothing about an animal that has died from natural causes, in an accident, or was killed by someone else."
Bill continued to look up at the panda, who looked down on him and spoke as if he was admonishing his own son after finding out he did something wrong. Or as if he was explaining to him why he should stick his finger inside of a moving fan.
"The meat on the Black Market is secretly supplied by hospitals, morgues and funerary houses. It comes from recently deceased herbivores whose corpses are shipped here and then taken to the butchers, to be sliced and then sold as meat. It was first instated decades after the Carni-Herbi War and served as a place for carnivores to indulge on eating meat. You can compare it for a whorehouse where you can pay for sex, or even as a drug house where you can have your fix if you pay for it."
Bill didn't like those comparisons, but he didn't had it in him to discuss with the panda.
"It was only after a few years that this place became popular that the people noticed that the amount of predation cases had reduced to a fraction of what it was." The panda continued, "As it turns out, having a place where they could come to eat meat without actually having to resort to killing an herbivore was enough to satisfy the instincts of carnivores. So, while even the herbivores recognized that the Black Market was a necessary evil, make no mistake of thinking that this place was built to be a nirvana for carnivores to be able to enjoy meat without being judged. It was a criminal refuge where meat was taken from stolen corpses and then sold for profit by ambitious people."
The panda turned his back to them.
"And, as it usually happens, this criminal refuge attracted all other kinds of illegal activities. Prostitution, drugs, slave trafficking and, of course, pelt trading." The panda said, "Over half of the people you will find wandering the streets of this area have committed at least one serious crime." The bear looked at his shoulder back at them. "So, drop this assumption that this is a happy carnivore paradise. This is a rough neighborhood where even the police don't come, where murderers can hide and live comfortably and even a carnivore like you can disappear and never be seen again. So be careful when walking those streets."
Bill could only look down at this.
It seemed that the panda had made his point, but he was not done yet.
"Also, if someone offers you to eat one of their fingers, don't accept it." The panda said, causing Bill to look up at him once more. "Yeah, I heard that discussion you guys were having. You kinds were being pretty loud. And I think your hybrid friend was smart for telling you not to eat his finger. This is an easy way to end up a meat addict."
"Meat... addict?" Tao asked, as the term was new to him. The panda, on his end, seemed happy (but not really) to explain to them.
"Like I already said, the meat you will find on the stands and stores is supplied from hospitals and funerary houses." The panda said, "They are an alternative to be able to eat meat without having to kill anyone. But, there is a huge difference between eating meat that you buy from a store, and eating meat that has literally just died."
He stooped by the side of something. Something that was covered with a curtain.
"Eating the meat of the stores... is nothing compared to eating truly fresh meat." The panda said, looking at them, his hand grabbing the cord connected to the curtain. "Like those poor sods found out."
He pulled the cord, and it opened, revealing a mural filled with pictures of carnivores.
And those weren't pretty to look at.
"W-what happened to them?" Aoba asked, as he looked at the carnivores on the picture.
"Those are all carnivores who have succumbed to their instincts and killed an herbivore with their own hands before devouring their fresh corpse." The panda said, his expression as somber as his voice. "As you can see, the experience didn't made wonders for them. Some could not forget the taste of meat and, unable to get more, they ended up chewing their own limbs to try and feel that flavor again. Some have become so stressed that they lost sleep, weight, and even fur. Some of them became so wracked with guilt that, while not having killed themselves, started resorting to all manners of self-destructive behaviors, from self-harm and looking for brawns with bigger and stronger carnivores to alcoholism and heavy drugs."
The panda gestured to the pictures as he said those words. It certainly helped paint a very vivid image on the minds of the four friends.
"And you know how many of them started?" The panda asked. "By eating the part of an herbivore who was still alive."
The panda was looking straight at Bill as he said those words.
"Who... are you?" The tiger asked, and the panda took a long drag of his bamboo cigarette, before letting out the smoke through his nose, and then he spoke:
"I practice psycho-synapsis. I am a therapist. In fact, I believe I am the only legitimate doctor in activity in the Black Market."
"And... you hunt carnivores?" Aoba asked, to what the panda clarified that he hunted meat addicts.
"All of those were my patients." He said, gesturing to the mural behind him. "I brought all of them to my clinic and treated them as best as I could, but I could only help a handful of them. That leopard you saw going out? She devoured two weasels half-a-year ago. I found her in a corner clawing her arms and drinking her own blood from the fresh wounds. It is soon to tell if she is truly recovered, but she made enough progress that I think it is safe to let her out. I don't think she is a danger to herself or others anymore."
The panda seemed to be proud as he spoke of his patient, or at least happy that he could help her. The others, however, were mortified with everything they had just learned.
Legoshi, in particular, seemed to be deep in thought...
"So, to put it simply..." the panda said, "I am a specialist in meat addiction, even though, as a panda, I have the luck of being able to live solely on bamboo. To you it might seem like just one finger, but the taste of living flesh is hard to forget. I heard of carnivores who had their perceptions affected after eating living flesh and could no longer taste, or on some cases even smell, anything that wasn't meat. Overtime, regular meat also started tasting bland. It could still sate, but it just didn't give the thrill and satisfaction of consuming fresh meat from a newly-killed herbivore. One that you killed with your own hands. Eventually, the craving will become so bad that the only way to sate it will be to eat meat straight from the body of a still-living herbivore. Perhaps from someone you go to school with..."
Bill and the others had horrified expressions on their faces. Aoba, in particular, remembered everyone from Drama Club and felt nauseous.
"I'm not saying that you should renounce meat, boys." The panda said to them, "But, if you really have to, then just buy some from the stands. Don't accept any offer to eat living meat. It is a slippery slope. You seem nice, kids. Even you, Bill, wasn't it?" he asked the tiger, "You seem a good kid. A little rough around the edges, but good. I'd hate to have to add your picture to my wall."
Bill looked at said mural. At all the carnivores in there. With their bleeding and bruised faces, with bald spots on their fur and wounded limbs. They all looked so miserable...
Legoshi was too looking at the pictures on the wall. However, unlike Bill, he was less interested on the anguish on the faces of those carnivores, and more on seeing if there was anyone in there he recognized.
"My... my dad." Legoshi finally said, garnering the attention of the room. He was looking at the panda.
"Do you... do you know my dad?"
The panda looked at him.
"Everyone in the Black Market knows your dad." He said simply, and Legoshi continued to look at him.
"Your name is Gouhin, right?" Legoshi asked, remembering that this was how the alpaca called him. "Your name doesn't start with an 'o'?"
"No...?" The panda asked, "Why do you ask?"
"Because... I thought you could be P.O. ... I mean, you are a panda and, if your name started with an 'o' then maybe..." The wolf said, and the panda looked at him with surprise, and Legoshi then told the panda what he told to his friends earlier, about how his father was away until he was five, and how he had this contact on his phone called "P.O.".
"With what you just said I thought..." Legoshi said, "I thought that maybe my dad had been one of your patients... that could be why... why..."
The hybrid trailed, and then he lifted his head.
"My dad... h-he always told me that I should be a good person. He told me that I should never even joke about eating someone else. That this was something only bad people did. He told me that the Black Market was a bad place where only bad people went. He told me that good people didn't came in there. That they had no reason to."
The hybrid looked at the panda deep in the eyes. Or, as close to the eyes as he could, considering that the black eyes to completely lost on the black surrounding them.
"Did my dad... used to come to the Black Market?"
Gouhin looked at the hybrid. He looked at him long and hard. It nearly seemed as if he was deciding if he would tell him anything. And how much he would tell him.
After nearly a minute, Gouhin sighed, and then he said:
"Ibuki... was born in the Black Market."
Legoshi looked up at him. The panda continued.
"His parents' house used to be on this very street. It has long been demolished. Now it is a place that sells venison. But it was in there, and it was where Ibuki was born. His parents preferred not to go to the hospital because they didn't had money to pay for hospital bills. To tell the truth, they barely had money to buy any food. Not only that, but his parents were... let's say 'less than caring'."
"Ibuki was on his own." Gouhin said, "He grew up on the streets since he was five. He survived as he could. Begging for money, fighting other carnivores and, whenever he had a chance, stealing meat from the stands or even digging it from the garbage."
Gouhin paused, and then he continued, feeling awful for having to say this to the young hybrid:
"He was ten when he first killed and ate an herbivore." These words made Legoshi's heart clench. "It was a seven-year-old zebra who got lost from his parents and wandered on the edge of the Black Market."
No...
Legoshi's head lowered, he could feel his eyes getting moisty.
"Legoshi..." Tao said, as they all looked at the hybrid, who then said:
"That bear... he... called dad a snitch..." He looked up, "And he mentioned something called Shishigumi..."
Gouhin then explained to the four boys that the Black Market was ruled by four major gangs, or "gumis". The Madaragumi, formed by leopards and jaguars, the Inarigumi, formed exclusively by female foxes, the Dokugumi, formed by Komodo dragons, and the Shishigumi, formed by lions. All those gangs practiced all manners of criminal activities, with focus on crimes related to meat and other ingredients obtained from herbivores, like the ivory from elephant tusks.
"Ibuki was a member of the Shishigumi." Gouhin explained. "He joined when he was a little younger than you. He took part on all of their criminal activities, including their tradition of kidnapping an herbivore and bring them to their lair to be devoured alive. They even say he was given the honor of the first bite."
Each word he heard only made Legoshi's stomach drop further.
"They say Ibuki showed a lot of promise." Gouhin continued, "They said that he could have become the next leader after the current one stepped down. It seemed like that was what was going to happen... until a female wolf came along."
Legoshi's head perked.
He was... talking about his mom?
"She was the most beautiful female wolf anyone ever saw in this city. Is what they say, at least." Gouhin continued, "So beautiful that Ibuki fell head-over-hells for her. And that was how the problem began."
"Weeks after meeting her, Ibuki was called to a meeting with the boss. One that turned into a full-out fight." Gouhin said.
"A fight?" Tao asked, "Why?"
"Because of the female wolf." Gouhin said, "Now, the details change depending on who you ask. Some say that the boss, an old-fashioned feline who hated all dogs, was disgusted with the idea of one of his men being in love with a wolf, and ordered Ibuki to cut ties with her, to what the lion didn't liked. Some say that the boss himself was interested on the wolf as well, and he wanted Ibuki to give her to him to be his girl, what Ibuki didn't liked."
He paused to take a drag from his cigarette, before he continued:
"Some also say that the boss actually didn't had a chance to say anything, and that Ibuki attacked him out of nowhere because he wanted to take over the Shishigumi, hoping that becoming the new leader would impress the wolf girl. Heck, some even say that she was the one who put Ibuki to it, that she talked him into trying to kill the boss and becoming the new leader of the Shishigumi because they were the most powerful of the gumis and she wanted to become the Black Market's new queen."
The look on Gouhin's face as he said those words made it clear that he didn't believed on this last theory at all.
"The only thing that everyone agrees is that the fight between Ibuki and the boss was because of the female wolf... and that the fight became bloody."
There was silence after those words.
"D-did dad..." Legoshi asked, "Killed him?"
Gouhin looked at the hybrid, and then shook his head.
"No." The panda therapist said, "But he scarred his face pretty bad. Then he ran out of there as fast as he could, as he knew that the rest of the gang would not take it lightly that he had just tried to kill their leader. And the leader himself would be after his blood for attacking him."
"So, Ibuki was in a pretty bad situation seventeen years ago." Gouhin continued. "He was all alone, with the whole of the Shishigumi coming not only for him, but for his wolf girlfriend as well. He knew that he could not hide nor run. So, I guess it is no surprise that he did what he did next."
"What he did?" Tao asked, and Gouhin said:
"The one thing that no denizen of the Black Market would ever think of doing: he went to the police."
Everyone reflected about this.
"That's why they say he was a snitch..." Bill said, and Gouhin continued:
"Yeah, Ibuki went to the police for protection. But not just to anyone on the police. Somehow he and the female wolf managed to book a meeting with no one other than Yahya himself."
"Wait, Yahya?" Aoba asked, "As in 'Yahya the Horse'!? The Sublime Beastar!?"
"The very same." Gouhin confirmed. "Now, let's make one thing clear here. All those stories about beastars being above prejudice and true pillars of equality? Forget it. That horse hates carnivores and everything that has to do with them. Especially the Black Market."
"Ibuki knew this, and he knew that he could use this on his favor." The panda said to the boys, "He made a deal with Yahya. He would give him inside information not only on the Shishigumi, but on the other three gumis, and on many other minor gangs. In return, he would get protection for himself and his girl, and a reduced sentence. Some say he wanted to ask for total immunity, but that he knew better than to push his luck."
Gouhin made a pause, before saying:
"The information Ibuki gave to the Black Devil led to one of the greatest mass arrests that this city has ever seen. Members of all the four gumis ended up arrested, with many of the smaller groups going completely extinct as the members who were lucky enough to avoid being arrested scattered like cockroaches. And, from the four gumis, the Shishigumi was certainly the one who suffered the biggest blow. All of those carnivores were taken away, and most of them were never heard from again..."
Hearing that, one could assume that this meant they got life sentences. However, the way that the panda spoke that made the four boys think that he had a different theory of what happened to them...
"As promised, Ibuki and his girlfriend were protected from the remaining members of the gumis. The mere word that the female wolf was now under the protection of the Black Devil himself is still enough to keep people from even trying to look for her." Gouhin continued, "As for Ibuki... well, even with all the information he gave to Yahya, he still committed crimes, from smuggling and racketeering to murder and predation. No way he would just be let out of the hook."
He looked at the hybrid as he spoke the next words:
"The reason why your father was away until you were five was because he was in jail. And the 'P.O.' contact on his phone? I am pretty certain that stands for 'parole officer'."
Gouhin then looked away.
"You know, most people think that Ibuki is still in jail, maybe in solitary confinement to keep the other criminals from trying to kill him. I mean, he did commit multiple predation crimes." The panda said, "To think that he was out on parole in just five years... heh. Either that old horse was really happy with all the arrests he managed to make with Ibuki's information, or your mother was so pretty that she managed to sway even that self-righteous, carnivore-hating asshole into giving her boyfriend the deal of a lifetime."
Silence followed those words. Legoshi looked at the panda, and then he slowly looked down.
"Legoshi..." Bill said, looking at the hybrid, but Legoshi didn't answered. He continued to look down. By his side, the nurse told Gouhin that she was done, as she applied the bandages to his furry arm.
"It will surely leave a scar, but he is not losing this arm. He was lucky the claws didn't get his tendons." She said, with a grumpy expression on her face that nearly made it seem she was disappointed that the hybrid didn't got anything worse then some scratches. Gouhin nodded.
"Good, then you can all go your way. Especially you, boy." He spoke that directly to Legoshi, causing the hybrid to look up at him.
"You need to get out of the Black Market now." Gouhin said, "Before the Shishigumi gets wind of you being here."
"The Shishigumi?" Bill asked, "But, wait, didn't you said they suffered great losses? Didn't they disband?"
"No, they didn't. Even though they came quite close." Gouhin said, "They lost nearly all of their members, while the other gumis only lost around half. Some of them escaped the Black Devil's wrath, though, including the boss, the one whom Ibuki scarred. It took them seven years to rebuild their numbers, but they did, and today they still are the strongest and most influent of the four gumis, with the Dokugumi being the only one who can oppose them. And they are still out for revenge."
Legoshi looked at him.
"What did you expect? Your father nearly killed their leader and ratted out their entire gang to the Black Market's greatest enemy! Of course they would not just let it go, even after seventeen years! The Shisihigumi still has a bounty placed on your father's head, as well as anyone who has ties with him, what obviously includes you!" The panda said, "We are talking about a violent and messed up group who makes a living of death and blood, those guys know how to hold a grudge, and their whole group nearly came to an end because of what your father did. That's why Ibuki never set foot on the Black Market again, because he knows he has a target painted on his back, and once the Shishigumi hears that you are his son, you will have one as well. They will want you to pay for your father's sins and believe me when I say they won't be satisfied with just putting a bullet through your brain."
There was more silence, as the hybrid continued to look at the panda, who then said:
"When you get out of the clinic, take the left. Continue for two blocks and then take the right. Just go straight and you will make it out of the Black Market and arrive at a train station. You have to go now, before the Shishigumi finds out about you. And, for your own safety, never dare to come back, because if you do the Shishigumi will never allow you to leave this place alive."
The way the panda said that made it sound he was really worried about Legoshi's well-being.
Soon, the hybrid and his three friends made it out of the clinic and, following the panda's instructions, they were able to find the metro station. During the time they walked there, and even on the train ride back to Cherryton, not one of them said a word. All of them were processing everything they learned tonight.
Especially Legoshi...
They were all so distracted that none of them noticed that, from the moment they stepped out of Gouhin's clinic, to the moment they stepped into the train back to Cherryton, there was someone following and watching them...