Sorry for the wait, trying to stay on top of my school work for college. Thank you for your patience. Please Enjoy.

-MalMetal

CHAPTER 49: Your Decision

Without a word, Riz stepped past Legoshi but stopped at his side, taking a breath, he left the room. The wolf stood alone, staring at the small drops of blood on the floor. He felt the silence of the room envelop him. He turned to the mirror and saw his black reflection. The black paws appeared again. Those eyes of scarlet red penetrated his soul.

"If I can't get you to eat, then I will get you to kill."

"...No. I won't. I can't cross that line. I'll do this with my strength. I have to."

"I thought you and I were the same."

"We are. I want to get rid of our desire to kill and eat meat, and use our full strength. We should work together to beat him… we fight together to win. Just tell me… do you care about Tem the way that I do?"The black mass became much more recognizable to the wolf as it began to take shape.

"I would've overwhelmed you to eat him if Gohin hadn't taught you right from wrong."

"Do you care about Tem?" Legoshi's voice was much more stern this time, and his instincts smirked.

"You know the answer." Legoshi closed his eyes and opened them again. Only his reflection and feelings remained.

"Done talking to yourself?" Pina asked.

"I can get him to confess Sunday night."

"Am I supposed to trust you after breaking our contract?"

"It's my only chance."

"And how am I supposed to trust you?"

"I don't have a choice but to get it for you."

"Are you sure that'll work?" Legoshi's eyes seemed hopeless, but underneath, Pina could tell something wasn't quite convinced, still, he trusted those eyes regardless."Cut it out with the sad puppy look. Your pupils don't match it at all."

"I'll bring all of this to an end. I swear I will." Legoshi delivered that resolve without hesitation. Pina smiled a little as he turned his back.

"Whatever. Consequences will come afterward." Pina left the wolf alone. He stared at his reflection for a second and then looked at his paws. He reached into his back pocket, taking out his handkerchief to feel its texture.

"Mom. I've grown big and strong. …This is my strength. I'm using it for someone else again." Legoshi stood straight. He looked at his reflection again. A darkened reflection stared back at him.

"We will survive and bring Riz to justice." The reflection smiled.

"We will become one to survive." It pointed to the exit."You'll need him to help."

Legoshi nodded and absorbed a sudden urge to kill Riz."I will not be so easily controlled."

"I won't hide anymore." Legoshi reached into his pocket and called Gohin. The panda picked up after a few rings, and Legoshi filled him in on the situation.

"... What is wrong with you?"

"I thought you'd understand."

"I do, but a fight to the death? You've got your grandpa who probably did his best to steer you right, friends who care about you, and a crush who likes you back. You want to throw all that away on the chance you might survive a fight with a brown bear who's comfortable enough to tell you that he'll kill you?" Legoshi grunted a little under his breath.

"When you say it like that, it sounds insane, a-and it is! I just... I can't let Riz get away with this. I want you to train me more so I don't die." Gohin put down his pen and leaned back in his chair.

"What the hell are you putting this on me for? You made this situation your problem when you signed those papers, right?"

"I've made a mess, and I want to clean it up. To do that, I need to get strong enough to stop him."

"... Fine. Come by tonight, but we'll only be training for two hours maximum a day. If you ask to go over, I'll knock you out and ship you back to your school in a cab, understood?"

"Yes."

"Get here around 6, a second later and I'm turning you away."

"Okay." Gohin hung up the phone, and he looked to his right. Two screens showed the clinic's entrance, and the others showed his patients. Everything was normal. He let out a sigh, sparked up a cigarette, and pulled a book out of a drawer. Looking through it, he found an old picture of his time in the military with ten phone numbers. He looked at one in particular. He thought about calling, but stopped himself. "You must learn to live with that part of yourself. What you want can't be solved by avoiding violence. It's a part of what you want, what you dream of."

"He's a fool just like you, that's for sure. This isn't my decision, I can only help keep him alive and take responsibility if he dies. You and I… we can't stop this." Gohin returned that book to his drawer. A warm sensation of guilt covered him, but he got back to work.

"Legoshi-!" Haru called the wolf out of his thoughts. She was out of breath.

"Act normal." "Hey, Haru."

"...I was looking for Bill, I haven't seen him lately."

"Our club meeting ended a while ago, so he's probably back in his dorm. Have you given him a call?"

"Of course, but he hasn't been responding or replying to anything. Could you check up on him for me?"

"Yeah, I'll stop by his room." Legoshi was a bit hunched over.

"Are you alright?"

"Hm? Yeah, I've been thinking about some things recently."

"Like what?" Haru's voice was investigative and very caring, all the same.

"... I can't tell it's a secret."

"You got tied up in something dangerous again, didn't you?"Legoshi's ear perked up.

"A-A little bit."

"Can you stoop down for me?" Legoshi kneeled to Haru's eye level. She pinched his cheeks with all of her strength. "You're messing around in dangerous stuff again?! It better not be over another herbivore either! We can handle ourselves without a selfless carnivore sticking their neck out for us!" Legoshi rubbed his cheek with his ear a bit flat.

Sighing, Haru patted him on the head."You're taking up too much." Legoshi wagged his tail.

"Maybe, but… I can't leave it alone. I have to be the one to finish this." Legoshi's ears perked up. "It's about a friend of mine."

Haru looked at him deeply."You might not be lucky this time."

"I'm working on getting stronger, I'll win. Like when I saved you."

"You barely survived! What's wrong with the boys around this school? All of you have this stupid idea of what you think is right or okay to do!"

"Well… uh, I guess we do, but it's not for a bad reason, even if it is the way we go about it isn't the smartest!" Haru gave Legoshi the type of look an older sister would give a little brother when he says something stupid.

"You just don't get it! People care about you!"

"I know that, but this has to happen. I won't let him get away with this!" Legoshi nearly yelled his reply.

"Is this about your friend who died?" Legoshi said nothing.

"... I can't tell you." Haru gave him a worried look.

"You're doing this alone. You could–" Haru pressed her lips together.

"I did this to myself. This is all I can do."Legoshi had a determined look in his eyes. A flame flickering behind those windows into his soul made it unbearable for Haru. The wolf got all bloody to save her with the same look he had now. One of a naive yet earnest determination to do something greater than he could do alone.

"You could die, don't you get that?" Haru's eyes became soft as she spoke, and her ears drooped."Why do you have to be so determined to do something so stupid?"

"... I never asked myself that because I always knew. In my heart, I made a promise to" grow up big and strong. "I think my strength as a carnivore is to protect, so I'll use it for that. No matter what, I'll protect everyone close to me. I don't want to lose anyone else."Legoshi spared a quiet smile that gave Haru an infallible hope. All she could do was laugh at what he said, making him blush and tail wag from embarrassment. Her ears perked up, and her eyes became solid again.

"Wanna eat with me?" Haru asked.

"Yeah, but I have to get my backpack."

"Okay."Haru waited outside the locker room and walked with Legoshi to the dining hall. They got their trays and sat at a table for large animals. Legoshi placed his bag on Haru's chair so her chest was well above the tabletop. While they ate, Legoshi avoided eye contact when chewing and kept his mouth closed as well.

"So what else have you been up to?" Haru asked.

"We've been practicing for the next Adler play."

"I know that. I was wondering about you and Juno?" Legoshi's ears stood up."I've heard from Els that you two have been spending a lot of time together."

"How would she know?!"

"Because you're in the same club. Girls do see and talk about stuff, you know."

"W-well, we haven't been spending that much time together because we're just friends."The rabbit gave him a sneaky look.

"I can tell when someone's in love. Le~go~shi." The wolf frowned." Sorry, you're so much fun to tease. Juno's a nice girl to fall in love with. She's pretty, strong, and your species, living will be really easy if you two end up having kids."

"I haven't even kissed her, and you're talking about kids!"

"I thought you'd at least have done that. Wait, are you still a virgin, Legoshi?" Legoshi closed his eyes and sighed.

"Y-yes, but I don't care about that. Being able to experience life with Juno by my side is more than enough for me. As long as I can see her smile and hold my hand, I'll never need to lose my virginity."

"Pfft!"

"Why are you laughing?!"

"Because you're such a liar, I know you've thought about her that way'd be impossible not to when you're in love with someone."

"Of course, I thought about it! Uh-"

"It's okay, tell your big sister all about it." Haru placed her hands on her cheeks with a sly, near-manipulative smile on her face. Legoshi folded his arms and pouted a little. Haru laughed again.

"The two of you would be so cute together. Little Legoshis running around, they'd be such troublemakers. Hopefully, they won't turn out as reckless as you."

"I don't want to think about that. Me and Juno are just waiting for the right time to do anything."

"Does she know how you feel?"

"Yeah, and she… likes me too. I think. Maybe." Legoshi looked away.

"You should tell her. If you're going to do something dangerous, then tell her with your heart how you really feel. Don't make her regret falling for you." Legoshi took her words to heart and checked his phone.

"I've gotta go." The two gathered their trays and dropped them off. Legoshi walked Haru to her dorm building.

"Promise me that you'll tell her." Haru's eyes connected with Legoshi's. There was a measured intensity between their gazes, but the wolf's faltered first.

"I promise." Legoshi walked to the school's gates, disappearing around a corner.

"Stay alive," Haru whispered under her breath. Legoshi ran to the train station. The time was 5:50, and he'd just passed over into the other part of the city. He quickly got off and entered the market through its main entrance. Remembering he could get into trouble, he pulled his sweater over his head and his undershirt over his muzzle. He moved through the market with a few glances from passersby but didn't draw any attention otherwise. He entered the clinic at 6 on the dot and saw an attendant at the desk.

"Excuse me, could you let me go up to see Gohin–"

"He'd hoped you wouldn't come. But he knew you would." Kyuu looked up from the desk at the wolf. She got up and pressed the elevator button to go up.

"Sorry, but where's Gohin?"

"Are you that clueless?"

"Huh–!" Legoshi blocked a knife slice with his palm from Kyuu.

"I'll be the one training you tonight, so keep quiet."Legoshi could tell the cut was extremely shallow, but–

"She's fast, and where did the knife even come from?" "Who are you?" Kyuu stepped into the elevator.

"A student of his, just like you. I'm going to teach you what it feels like to be completely helpless." Under the light of the elevator, Legoshi saw her expression. It could only be described as…

"Cute." Legoshi thought to himself. Kyuu threw a rope around Legoshi's neck and pulled him into the elevator. She stepped on his chest, pulling the rope tighter.

"I'm gonna kill you for that easygoing look, wolf!" Kyuu yelled.