Bill was not one to be awkward around others.

This was just not how he was. He was a confident and loud guy that was possibly the most upbeat and positive member of the Drama Club.

Legoshi was the awkward one.

However, at that moment, on the dressing room, Bill was unusually awkward as he talked to Louis.

"So... is your arm okay?" Bill asked to the deer as he rubbed the back of his head. Louis, who was changing clothes, looked back at him. "No problems or anything? You know, because of where my claws cut you, I was worried I could have gotten one of your tendons..."

Bill was referring to just the other day when they were rehearsing and Bill accidentally scratched Louis' arm. They immediately knew what happened, because of the blood.

Bill had immediately started apologizing, and he was asking Louis if he was okay, when the deer gave him a look that Bill never received before.

As if he thought Bill was going to jump at him and devour him whole any second.

Everyone told Louis that he should go to the infirmary, and Bill himself even offered to take Louis there, but the deer said that he could find his way on his own. Everyone, including Bill, looked at him with worry as he walked to the infirmary while holding his bleeding wrist.

"The nurse said I am fine." Louis said, as he massaged his bandaged wrist. "It was nothing serious, it only bled like that because your claws got a blood vessel, but they didn't come anywhere near any tendon."

"Oh, that's good." Bill said, "Louis, you know I didn't mean to scratch you, don't you? I mean, it was an accident."

"What's up with you?" Louis asked, turning to face the tiger. They were both shirtless, so the difference between Bill's muscular carnivore frame and Louis' thin body was even more evident for everyone who looked.

"For the last couple weeks you have been a lot tamer than usual." Louis said to the tiger. "You have not been so loud, and you have also been trying to be more helpful and polite. Not to mention that you have been awfully apologetic about my wrist. I saw all the messages you sent me yesterday. Just what happened to you?"

He had a stumble on a place where he nearly got killed and learned that sometimes being a strong and proud carnivore could get you into more problem than it could be worth.

He met carnivores who didn't care if they killed someone as long as they gained something out of it, and he also saw pictures of carnivores who basically got their whole lives ruined because they went to far and devoured someone.

And Bill did not want to end up as either of them.

"I am just worried with you, okay?" Bill said, "I do feel bad about scratching your arm. I didn't mean to... besides, I think that I should try and be more useful to the club. You know, since I am part of it and all, and I need to carry my weight and help other members. You know, this kind of thing that you are expected to do when you are part of a club?"

Louis continued to look at Bill, nearly as if he was trying to see through him.

"Are you trying to butter us up?"

"What!?" Bill asked, suddenly looking a little alarmed at the question. Mostly because of the specific type of words Louis used.

"I am asking if you are trying to garner favor of the rest of the club to try and get a better role on the presentation." Louis asked. He didn't really wait for the tiger to answer, before turning back to his locker "If you are, then you can cut it out right now. Your role on the Meteor Festival presentation has already been decided, so you can stop playing the helpful carnivore if your only goal is to gain something out of it."

Bill glared at Louis. For a moment, it seemed that he was going to start a discussion, but he only looked to the side while saying that "he was not doing that". All the while the rest of the males on the lockers continued to look at the two.

"You know, Bill is a lot tamer than usual." Said Riz, whispering for the smaller animals near him as they looked.

"Meanwhile, Louis is still a jerk." Kai said, looking at the deer. "And he is quite thin! Seriously, you can almost count his ribs! Think he is anorexic or something?"

"Maybe he is on a diet..." Kibi offered, albeit he was still a bit unsettled by how thin Louis was. Kai was right, he really could count Louis ribs, if he looked hard enough, until the moment that Louis placed his gym shirt, stretching the collar to make sure it didn't get caught on his horns.

"Also, did you guys notice that Louis never takes off his socks?" Kai asked, and the others looked at him.

That was when the door opened, and someone else was coming into the locker.

"You are late." Louis said to Legoshi as the hybrid made his way to his own locker, next to Louis', and opened it, removing his jacket and then his shirt, revealing his massive body and his extra arms.

"I heard you got a slash on your wrist." Legoshi said coldly. "Any chance you might lose your hand?"

The way Legoshi asked that caught everyone on the lockers off guard, as they all could only look at him in surprise, including Louis. The deer, however, recovered quickly.

"It is just a scratch." Louis said to the hybrid. "It doesn't compare to what other carnivores can do to herbivores. So stop worrying about it."

"If you say so." Legoshi said coldly, as he just continued to change, all the while everyone was looking at him, wondering what has gotten into the big hybrid today.

"You know, I have still not figured out if Legoshi and Louis are friends or if they hate each other." Fudge said, as he watched as the four-armed hybrid exchanged his clothes for the gymnastic ones needed for club activities.

"What are you even late for?" Louis asked to the hybrid. Legoshi the, without looking his way, said:

"I passed by Gardening Club before coming here."

This surprised Louis.

"I am helping with the garden, and I went there to see if Haru-chan needed anything." The hybrid said, and then he looked at the deer with a side-eye.

"Is that a problem to you?"

The way that Legoshi said those last words was nearly as if he was openly challenging the deer to say something about it. This, needless to say, only caught the deer even more off guard.

Wait... Louis thought, as he saw the hostility in Legoshi's eyes as he looked at him, and the way he spoke those words, and the connection forming on his mind. Is that jealousy?

"Hey, Legoshi! Take it easy, man!" Bill said, and this caused Louis to look at him.

Everyone on the lockers was surprised at this point.

Bill telling Legoshi to take it easy?

"What's up with you two today?" Louis asked to the hybrid and tiger. "Are you doing one of those therapies where one starts acting like the other?"

The two carnivores looked his way, and Louis sighed.

"Whatever." He said as he picked his sneakers and started wearing them for the club. "Whatever it is, I hope you two cut it out before it gets on the way of your work. I will not accept for you two to interfere with rehearsal."

With that said, Louis finished tying his shoes and then told Legoshi to hurry up and change so he could do his job. The hybrid continued to give the deer an evil glare as he made his way out of the lockers, nearly as if he was hoping he would spontaneously burst into flames.

Legoshi was not the only one to arrive late for club, as two other animals of the club arrived with a little delay.

"Sorry, we are late!" Juno said as she and the lioness with the mask made their way into the club. She explained to everyone that there was a sloth in front of them in the line for the bathroom, and they had to help her get in. Everyone understood, for they all knew how sloths could be in moments like that.

Even though they only needed to go to bathroom once a week.

"Okay then!" Juno said happily. "Let's all do our best in another day in our club!"

That was Juno, always positive and happy. That was one of the reasons why everyone loved her on the club. She certainly was a contrast with her best friend, who was always quiet and never smiling. That is, she probably smiled, but it was hard to say with that mask always on her face, which she never took because of her allergies, not even when it was time to change her clothes.

"Hey, girls..." Els would say to the others as Juno and Kiira both made their way to the lockers to change. "Did you notice that Kiira doesn't have a bellybutton?"

Meanwhile, Kibi was saying to Legoshi:

"Do not take our Juno away from us, okay?"

This, of course, confused the hybrid. Kibi, like others, noticed how Juno was looking at Legoshi as she spoke that. However, it was not because she was interested on him, like everyone probably thought, but because she knew someone who was.

As soon as they were back, Juno was with the rest of the actors rehearsing her dance for the festival, while Kiira joined the stagehands alongside Legoshi.

"Legoshi-senpai?" The masked hybrid asked to the male one.

"Hm?"

"Do you mind showing me how to work on the light fixtures?" She asked to him. "I'd like to know how to, so I can help you when you need, and you will not be so loaded with work."

Legoshi was a bit surprised, but he was all for it, and Dom said it was okay, so Legoshi went with Kiira and started to teach her how to operate and fix the lights.

"It is easy for me, because Grandpa taught me how to work with electrical systems. He has been working with construction since forever." Legoshi said to her.

"Well, I never dealt with anything electric in my life. I might really need your help for a few things."

Legoshi told her that he would be glad to show her the ropes, and Kiira blushed under her mask.

It was actually working...

"You should try to appeal to his helpful nature." Juno said to her friend. "It could be because he is part canine, or maybe that's just how he is, but Legoshi is very helpful. Act as if you need help with something and ask him to help you. This will definitely set of his supportive instincts and he will definitely get close to him. Now, don't try to make yourself look useless or incompetent, but make yourself vulnerable enough that he will think you really need his help. This usually works to get guys interested, and it will certainly work on a guy like Legoshi."

"Could you help me with this here, senpai?" Kiira asked, requesting Legoshi's help with something that she could not really do with the electrical system. Soon, Legoshi was right by her side walking her through how to fix that specific problem on the light fixture.

"You know, it doesn't help that those lights are so old and are always breaking." Legoshi said to her, and she nodded as she continued to accept his help, with their hands occasionally brushing on each other.

Down on the floor level, Juno looked up and saw how close the male hybrid was to her best friend. She couldn't help but smirk to herself, as she went back to rehearsing.

Meanwhile, another animal on the floor level, one with horns, was looking up at the two of them, and he had a different thought on his mind as he looked at the two carnivore animals up there...

Juno stayed until late on the Drama Club.

She was still rehearsing for the upcoming dance, as this would be her first official presentation as a member of Drama Club, and she would be taking a leading role at that. She wanted to be sure to pull it off without a hitch, since it was important.

She still thought that it was Kiira who should be the one dancing on the festival. She was way better at this than her, and she proved to her that she already knew the choreography to a T.

"Still here so late?" Said a voice, which made Juno look over to see who it was.

"Oh, Louis-senpai." Juno said to the deer as he approached her. "Yes, I wanted to rehearse my choreography a little longer. I am still not sure if I am getting it right... say, would you mind watching me dance and give me some pointers?"

Louis agreed to do so. It was not as if he had anything else to do, anyways.

He watched her dance and told her what he thought of her dancing style, letting her know that maybe she could do it better if she fixed some small points.

"But, if you ask me, all males watching the show will probably enjoy it. At least the carnivore ones will."

"Is that so?" The female wolf asked the male deer, who looked back at her seeing the look on her face and realized that this last commentary might have been sexist.

"Sorry if I offended you." Louis said, to what Juno told him it was fine. That was when Louis decided to ask something that has been on his mind for quite some time.

"What's the deal with the lioness friend of yours?" Louis asked, looking at the female wolf. "I mean, she never takes off that mask."

"Well, she explained it to everyone when she first arrived in club, didn't she?" Juno said to him, crossing her arms as she looked back at him. Louis, however, was not convinced.

"You know, I have noticed some things about her since she joined." Louis said to the wolf. "And it is not only about the mask she never takes off. You know, she is always acting shy and soft-spoken. Always acting as if she wants to fade on the background and be unseen. She is not like Bill at all. If anything... she is like Legoshi."

Juno looked at Louis.

"What are you getting at?" The wolf asked him, her tone and look suddenly piercing and cold. However, Louis was not one to let himself be intimidated so easily.

"She lurks in the shadows and tries to avoid having any look on her way, just like Legoshi. She has a certain article that she never removes in front of others, like Legoshi with his hoodies." Louis said, "That makes me wonder if, like Legoshi, she could be hiding something..."

For a long moment, the two animals on the room looked at each other.

"If that was the case..." Juno said, looking at the deer as she gave a step in his direction. "If Kiira was hiding something... would you hate her?"

Even Louis could not help himself from flinching internally as a carnivore walked his way while looking at him like that. This was usually a sign of danger, and his instincts told him that now was a good time to retreat. However, Louis held on, even as Juno stepped even closer to him.

"Louis-senpai..." Juno said, "You really hate carnivores, don't you?"

The way she spoke that surprised Louis. She was accusing him. However, more than that, she was saying something that she honestly believed to be true. For a moment, he was left without answer, and that was when Juno continued.

"I heard the others say on how you act with some of the other carnivores of the club." Juno said, "With the tiger, Bill, with Legoshi-senpai... that really gives the impression that you hate carnivores. Do you hate me as well? Do you hate Kiira?"

Her gaze became more piercing as she asked that last question, and Louis did gave a step back now, but it was too late, because Juno had already reached him, and she reached for his wrists and grasped them before the deer could walk away.

"H-hey!" Louis said, trying to free his wrists, but being unable to.

"You have a problem with hybrids, Louis-senpai?" She asked him, speaking the deer's name and title with a certain disdain. "A lot of people do. I learned it as I was growing up. People tend to be very judgmental with hybrids. I remember that there was time when I was as well... until I met a hybrid for the first time."

She was still advancing, and Louis was unable to free his wrists, as the female carnivore, albeit smaller, started to tower over him.

"For the first time, I could actually talk and know a hybrid. That was how I realized that nearly all things I heard about them as a small kid were wrong. That they were nothing more than arguments that judgmental people use to justify their own prejudices. Yes, meeting a hybrid them really did open my eyes..."

"You know, Legoshi-senpai is a hybrid." Juno said to the deer, as she started pushing him down. "But, at the end of the day, he is a carnivore. Like me. And like Kiira. And people like you make life even more difficult for carnivores like us when we already go through a lot..."

Louis tried to fight her, but she was just too strong! She pushed him down, and then Louis was laying on his back, with Juno sitting on his abdomen and looking down on him as she held his wrists, effectively pinning him to the ground without being able to get up.

No way he would be able to shake her off.

"Louis-senpai..." Juno said, looking down at the deer with a cold, but serene, expression. "This, right now, is a declaration of war."

Louis could only look up at her, his heart racing as she held him down.

"I will become the next beastar." Juno declared to him, all seriousness of the world on her voice as she spoke those words to the deer. "I will become the beastar, and I will create a peaceful world for carnivores, purebred and hybrid alike."

"A world where Legoshi-senpai and Kiira will be able to stand proudly together." She finished. "Where they will be happy together."

Louis couldn't help but look up at her. Maybe it was the dim illumination in that room where they were all alone, but Louis could swear that Juno looked... cute?

After one more failed attempt of freeing himself from her grasp, Louis relaxed, and then he just looked up at her with serenity, as he spoke:

"You know, when I first met Bill and Legoshi, I noticed right away how they were polar opposites. One of them lurked in the shadows, and the other was loud and called a lot of attention. At that moment I had the impression that, if I was ever to be devoured by a carnivore here in school grounds, it would have to be one of those two."

He then let out a scoff.

"But you know what? Being devoured by you would certainly be better than being eaten by any of them." Louis said, "It certainly would feel better."

Juno blinked, looking at the deer in surprise.

"I would never do that!" She said, getting off him and finally allowing Louis to get up.

"You really do think the worst of carnivores, don't you?" Juno asked, and that sounded like an accusation. Louis, however, could not bring himself to care too much.

"So, I guess this means you and I will be competitors, doesn't it?" Louis said to her, as he got up. "Very well then, I take that challenge. But I have to tell you something."

He was getting up now.

"If you are expecting Legoshi and your friend to be together, you might find yourself getting disappointed." Louis said, "Legoshi appears to have certain... preferences."

Juno blinked, looking up at him.

"What does that mean?" Juno asked, looking at him as the deer turned to walk away.

"Just pay attention to that guy on the following days, and you will understand what it means." The deer said, "My point is that, he will probably not be interested in your friend. She is... not his type."

And that was all that Louis said before leaving, and Juno was left all alone on the dark of the place.

It was getting dark. They had stayed there longer than the other times, as there was still a lot to do, with the festival inching ever closer with each passing day, and they needed to have everything ready and perfect for the great night.

And, right now, they had just finished the final touches on the great dinosaur statue. It did look good...

"Now, to see if the lights work..." Dom said, once Legoshi has given him the go-ahead to try it after ensuring him that the electrical part was okay, before pressing the button on the switch.

Then, just like magic, the lights around and inside of the dinosaur statues lighted up, creating an amazing effect of illumination, and making those life-like statues take on an ethereal look that really made them seem like the spirits of the dinosaurs that came to walk on Earth.

Everyone approved of the work, both the stagehands, who worked hard to make the statues look so good, and the other members of the, who all came to see and look the work of their dear stagehands.

And what a work it was.

It certainly got everyone's attention.

Except for Kiira's. The masked female was still looking at the hooded male...

"So, this work is done!" Kai said, "Finally! Now I won't have to worry about having paint on my fur anymore!"

"You know what, guys? This calls for a celebration!" Bill said, gathering everyone's attention. "Why don't we all go out for dinner? There is a restaurant nearby that serves both carnivores and herbivores! We all pitch in, huh?"

A lot of the animals on the club agreed, although some preferred to go back home, since it was kind of late.

"Has anyone seen Louis?" Kai asked, and everyone was talking about how they have not seen the deer in a while. Some even say that he went to talk to someone of the team that was preparing for the night of the festival.

"I heard one of them mentioning something about some special presentation that will happen that night, and I don't think they were talking about us." Bill said.

Legoshi, on his end, was hardly saying anything, he was too busy looking at the statues, and seeing how nice they were.

"Kiira." Juno whispered to her friend, as she gently nudged her with her shoulder, causing the lioness/eagle hybrid to look at her, as the wolf gestured to the male hybrid with her muzzle.

Kiira understood that Juno was telling her not to lose a cue when it was right there.

"Uhh, Legoshi-senpai?" Kiira asked, causing the male to look at her. "What about, since we finished this, we take a walk around the festival together?"

Legoshi looked at her in surprise and, seeing no reason not to, he agreed to go with her. They both walked side-by-side, and Juno smiled as she saw the two of them go, while the rest of the club discussed how they would split their bill once they were at said restaurant.

Legoshi and Kiira walked across the place, seeing some of the sights that, while not being ready yet, certainly looked like they were pretty good, like games and stands. And, on the center of everything, was the dome-like place where, on the night of the festival, couples would go inside to light their candles and ensure that they would be together forever.

"That is really romantic." Kiira said to the male by her side. "To ensure that you and your loved one will be together forever. It certainly takes a lot of commitment to do something like that."

Kiira was speaking as if she believed this superstition to be real.

That was because she mostly did.

It was hard for her not to believe it.

Felines tended to be very superstitious by nature. This also applied to those who were half-feline, like Kiira. And Legoshi as well.

The hybrid always found himself to easily believe in things like walking under stairs and making wishes upon stars. He also found it very easy to believe in ghost stories, which usually ended up with him spending nights awake and not being able to sleep soundly without a nightlight.

Perhaps that was why Legoshi really thought that, if he lighted a candle with a girl inside of that dome, then this meant that he and this girl really would remain forever on each other's lives.

"It sounds... really great..." Legoshi said, as his mind was instinctively going to a certain bunny he knew. Kiira, however, didn't knew that, and she only looked at the male hybrid, before she spoke:

"Say, Legoshi-senpai... what would you think if, in the night of the festival, we-"

However, Kiira didn't got to finish her question, for that was when all the lights suddenly went out.

And then there was panic, as everyone realized that the lights were out, and all of them were taking in how sudden it was.

"What happened!?" Kiira said, as she looked around.

"It's a blackout!" Legoshi, as he looked around. But, wait, there is still light on the buildings just outside. Is it only on the festival?

Around them, the two of them could see how the situation was escalating with the herbivores panicking at the sudden darkness. This was because, unlike carnivores, none of them could see well in the dark, what meant that they had no idea of what was happening around them.

However, more than that...

"All of the predation attacks recently have happened in darkness..." Legoshi said, making Kiira look at him. "We gotta go to the rest of the club!"

With this, Kiira and Legoshi made their way back as fast as their legs could carry him. Kiira had to struggle to keep up with Legoshi's pace, but she did arrive right after him, and they saw that the club was in as much fear and confusion as the rest of the festival. The herbivores in particular.

"Dom-senpai!" Legoshi said to the peafowl, who was looking blindly on the darkness.

"Legoshi? Is that you? Where are you?"

"Here, touch my hand!" Legoshi said, and Dom did, and Legoshi could tell from the way that Dom held his hand that the peafowl was shaking.

He is scared... Legoshi thought.

"Legoshi, you are strong. Perhaps stronger than most purebred animals." The voice of his father rung on his ears. "Use that strength to protect others. Use that strength to protect the herbivores around you. This is the least you can do for them. Never forget this, Legoshi."

I have to protect them! Legoshi thought, and soon he was barking orders to the others, quickly taking charge. He told all the herbivores to gather on the center, and for the carnivores, with night vision, to form a circle around them to protect them from any potential attack.

"Legoshi, what is happening?" Aoba asked. "Why did the lights go out?"

"I have no idea." The hybrid said, "But everyone is in panic because of it."

"Yeah, I cannot blame them." Aoba said, looking around. "They cannot see a thing in this darkness. I bet that an herbivore all alone in this all would be terrified."

Legoshi blinked.

An herbivore all alone...

Haru! The hybrid's mind immediately thought. She is all alone in there! I need to find her!

"Keep protecting the herbivores of the club!" Legoshi said, "I have to go find someone!"

"Senpai, wait!" Kiira said, but Legoshi had already took off, leaving the rest of the carnivores of the club to protect the herbivores.

"Is he going to look for Louis?" someone asked, but that was not the case.

Legoshi was looking for Haru. He was looking for the bunny of the gardening club that he had been helping.

And he soon found her, in great part thanks for his extremely sensitive nose that guided him exactly to the place where she was.

And he found her on the arms of a lion in a suit. And that was definitely not the mayor.

She was squirming on his arms, while he carried her away with a hand over her mouth, keeping her from screaming.

On that moment, Legoshi's vision turned red.

That guy was kidnapping Haru!

The hybrid charged forward before he even realized what he was doing. The lion looked back at him in time to see a fist coming to his face, connecting right and sending him back flying.

Haru landed on the ground, while the lion landed a few feet away, groaning as he held his face.

Legoshi then looked at the bunny.

"Haru!" Legoshi said, turning to the bunny, who was getting up from the ground. "Haru, are you okay!? Did he hurt you!?"

Haru, upon hearing that worried voice talking to her, still confused, then said:

"L-Louis?" She spoke, "Louis! You came!"

Legoshi didn't answered to that. First, because he was shocked that Haru said. That, after he was the one who came and saved her from being kidnapped by a lion, it was his name that came out of her mouth...

And second, because the same lion who he punched then came in and kicked his head hard.

"Hey, what is the big idea!?" Said the lion, as he walked to the hybrid as he tried to get up and stepped on his head, pressing him hard on the ground.

"So, you want to be a hero, huh?" The lion asked. "Well, sorry to tell you, dude, but in real life being a hero doesn't get you a happy ending!"

Legoshi was still trying to get up and, in doing so, he allowed the lion to catch a look at his muzzle as he turned his head to the side.

"A dog, huh?" The lion said, "Well, that certainly works for me. I'll love to give a good beating into one of you mutts before taking the bunny."

Legoshi was not having that.

Legoshi grabbed the ankle of the lion stepping on his head, and squeezed hard, sinking his claws in it. That was enough to make the lion faulter enough for Legoshi to push his foot out of his head and then deliver an uppercut right to the feline's crotch, causing the lion to recoil and hold his groin in pain, while the hybrid got up.

"You don't dare touch her!" Legoshi growled at the lion, who was recovering and looking up at him.

"What? Do you want to eat her yourself?"

Legoshi didn't even dignified with an answer, instead choosing to give that lion a punch as hard as the one he gave to Bill back when they fought. However, this lion showed to be more resilient than Bill, and he steadied himself before trying to strike the one attacking him back.

However, this lion was clearly unprepared for a carnivore who was able to fight as well, and he was having some trouble to fight Legoshi, who dodged his blows and delivered punch after punch to his face, and this was already causing the lion to have a bloody nose.

That was when the lion reached inside his suit and pulled out a gun. Legoshi, however, was faster.

He grabbed the lion's hand with the gun, causing both of them go into the ground, with Legoshi on top. The hybrid struggled to keep the gun pointed into a direction where it would not hit anyone if it fired, while the lion struggled to point the gun at Legoshi so he could pull the trigger.

That was when Legoshi delivered a punch to the lion's side, hitting right where his father taught him the liver was. This made the lion flinch in pain, and this was enough for Legoshi to snatch the gun from his hand.

Then, Legoshi used the butt of the gun to hit the lion's face one, two, three times.

"Come on!" The lion said, "How are you so strong!?" the feline said, as he grabbed the hybrid's wrist. "And how are you so big! You mutts are not supposed to grow so-"

He did, however, stopped talking as, when he reached out to try and grasp his attacker's head, Legoshi threw his head back to keep himself out of his reach. In doing so, his hoodie fell back, revealing his mane.

The lion paused, looking up at the one on top of him with wide eyes, and taking it that the wolf had a mane.

"Y-you..." The lion said. "You are..."

That was when the lights came back.

The lion then panicked, giving a hard punch to the hybrid's cheek and pushing him off so he could run.

Legoshi was getting up, and he was about to take chase after the lion, when he heard a whimper coming from near him. He turned his head to see Haru, still on the ground, and looking scared.

In that moment, the lion was completely forgotten about, as all the hybrid's attention was focused on the bunny, as he was quickly rushing to her to make sure that she was not hurt.

"Y-your face..." Haru said, as she looked at the fresh bruise forming on his cheek from where the lion just punched him. However, Legoshi assured her that he was fine, and told her that he was glad that she was not harmed.

"Oh, but you got a little dirt on your face." The hybrid said, as he reached for a handkerchief on his pocket and used it to wipe the stain on Haru's pristine white fur.

He was so focused on her that he completely forgot that his mane was exposed for the world to see. Luckily, there was no one looking their way.

That is, no one other than a certain animal from Drama Club that followed the hybrid there.

W-what? Juno thought, as she stared at the scene before her. A-a bunny? Legoshi is with... no. No, that can't be. She is an herbivore. There's no way...

However, as she looked at the way that the hybrid was smiling as he talked to the bunny, and the way he was affectionally cleaning her face as if she was a small child, it soon became clear to her that there was no denying what she was seeing.

Suddenly, Louis words about Legoshi's "preferences" and about him having a "type" came back to her.

What!? Seriously!?

However, Juno looked away from the scene, as a noise behind her made her turn around and see a familiar face.

"Kiira!"

The female hybrid, however, did not looked at Juno. She was too busy looking at the same scene as Juno and, like Juno, she was soon taking her own conclusions about what she was seeing.

Juno could only look as tears started to leak from Kiira's eyes...

"The boss is getting worse..." A lion said, as they both stood behind a closed pair of double doors. "There is no denying, he is starting to lose it."

"You tell me, Free..." Said another lion standing by his side. This one had a huge x-shaped scar on the middle of his face, right between his eyes. "He has been getting worse with each year. He still managed to be a good leader for a long time, though."

"Yeah, but now he is starting to become erratic, Dolph!" Said Free to the scar-faced lion. "I mean, the things he is doing now? Going out and hunting by himself and not even leaving a card when he is done!? And last week he killed two of the recruits in a fit of anger! He is totally losing it!"

"Yes, but he is still our boss." Dolph said to Free. "He is our leader, and we need to follow his orders. That's how it has always been. There is no one else to take his place as the leader. Either we stay under his command or we subject to one of the other gumis, and we all agree that this is not an option. The Madaragumi are too weird, the Inarigumi have all those rules and they see males as inferior, and don't even get me started on the Dokugumi..."

"Yeah, I agree with all that... but still, the boss is getting too..." Free started saying, but he was interrupted when another lion arrived, and this one was in quite a hurry to get there.

"Yoh, Sony, you're back!" Free said as they both looked at the lion on his late twenties. "And, without the bunny..."

"The boss is not gonna like that..." Dolph said, sounding worried. Meanwhile, Sony, the lion who just arrived, was panting a little, and he said:

"I need to talk to the boss now!"

The two older lions shared a look, and then they both opened the door, allowing Sony to go inside.

There was another lion in that room, sitting in a chair behind a desk, his back turned to the door as the three lions approached.

"Boss!" Sony said, "Boss, you won't believe what happened! I was on the festival to snag that white bunny you wanted and-"

"Is she here?"

The single question of the lion sitting behind the desk made Sony stop.

"I... w-well... no..." He said, and the lion did not like it.

"So... you failed to get me my dinner..." The lion said, his voice dropping to a dangerous tone, and Sony flinched at this, and so did Free and Dolph.

"I-it was not my fault!" Sony said on his own defense. "I was attacked by another carnivore!"

"Then you should have fought them off!" The lion snapped, causing Sony to flinch. "Don't you know that an important aspect of being a carnivore is to be able to protect your meal from being taken from you!? You incompetent idiot!"

Sony was actually flinching. He could tell that their boss was furious at him. And the last time the boss got furious with someone...

"What kind of carnivore it was?" The boss asked, sounding a bit calmer, but Sony knew that he was still on thin ice. So, he decided to speak.

"Well, I thought it was a wolf at first." Sony said, "But, I realized that he was big for a wolf, and then I noticed that he had a mane!"

There was silence after those words.

"Are you talking about a maned wolf?" The boss asked, "My meal was stolen by a maned wolf?"

"No!" Sony said, "That wolf was as big as me! And he had an actual mane! A lion's mane!"

Then, after two seconds of pause, Sony said:

"He was a hybrid of wolf and lion!"

All of the lions on the room took in those news. All of them were suddenly getting what Sony was talking about, and they all understood the magnitude of it.

The chair slowly spun, until the lion sitting in it was not facing Sony, a severe expression on his face.

"Are you telling me..." the lion said, each word slow and deliberate. "You found that traitor's son?"

He growled the last part in a way that was nearly threatening, and Sony confirmed that he had. He said that the guy looked young enough to be his son.

"Did you kill him?" The boss asked, and Sony then looked away, saying that he didn't really got to do it.

"You found the son of our greatest enemy, and you let him live?" The boss said, gripping hard on the head of his cane. He seemed pissed.

"He was strong, and he came at me!" Sony said, trying to justify himself. "And he managed to steal my gun, and then the lights came back on and I had to run before anyone else saw me!"

*BAM*

Sony flinched, color draining from his features as he saw the object that the boss had taken from a drawer on his desk and slammed into it, with his hand still on top of it.

It was a gun.

Sony knew now that the next thing he said would determine it he would be shot or not.

"H-he is a student of Cherryton Academy!" Sony said frantically. "He was wearing a jacket and it had the school's logo in it! I heard people say that the school's drama club was invited to perform on the night of the festival, and he must be one of them! This means that he will probably go back to the festival with the rest of the club! We can go back and get him when he is there!"

Silence followed those words, before the boss slowly got up.

"Do it..." He said. "Dolph! You will go with them. Make sure to find that boy and get him. I will not allow my prize to escape from me..."

Dolph stood to attention as the boss addressed him.

"You can count on me, boss." He said, and then Sony added:

"On me too, boss! I will definitely bring the bunny to you this time! Don't worry!"

"The hell with the bunny!" The boss said, slamming his cane into the ground as he roared, causing all lions before him to flinch. "I can find other white herbivores to eat! She is not that special!"

He then looked up. They all could see his face, horribly scarred with claw marks on the left side, with an eyepatch covering the place where his left eye had once been.

"Bring me that hybrid..." He growled at him, his face, already not a nice visage because of the nasty scar, becoming even more terrifying as it was distorted by the rage.

"Bring me Ibuki's son!"