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Chapter Text

It had been three days since Alex and Legosi had agreed to work together to discover the identity of the killer. Not much progress had been made since then. But that was about to change. Alex was about to make a move to get closer to one of the four remaining suspects. The wolf still couldn't entirely believe everything that had led up to this point.

Alex was a member of the Zootopia Police Department who had been assigned to go undercover in Cherryton as a student so he could investigate the town's back alley meat market and document the criminal dealings going on there as well as bring members of the lion yakuza gang, the Shishigumi, to justice. But a week into the investigation, an unexpected change of events had occurred.

One of the students at Cherryton Academy, an alpaca named Tem, was slaughtered and devoured by an unknown predator. Alex shifted his priorities from arresting the Shishigumi and investigating the black market to finding the murderer.

After gathering information from several of the students, Alex found out that many animals suspected the gray wolf Legosi to be the killer. The gray wolf was shy and somewhat introverted, and his large size and silent demeanor made many animals feel uneasy around him.

The wolf cop followed Legosi around for a little while, and witnessed him giving the Angora goat Els a love letter from Tem. Apparently, the alpaca had a crush on Els, and Legosi wanted to fulfill one of the goat's unresolved desires. As Alex watched the two of them interact, he noted that Legosi did not show a single sign of guilt. This led Alex to believe that Legosi was innocent.

The very next day, Alex stood up for a young white dwarf rabbit who was being bullied, and learned her name was Haru. Then Alex joined the drama club, and was forced to reveal his secret to the leader of the club, a red deer named Louis, or risk having his cover blown. Louis gave him guard duty, telling Alex to come back to the school at night to keep watch over them and keep him and another actor from getting out of trouble.

After Alex pushed Haru out of the way of a falling mattress that would likely have killed the poor bunny, he suffered a moderate injury and wound up meeting his old police partner Lem, who had transferred from the Zootopia police department to Cherryton.

Alex brought Lem up to speed on why he was in Cherryton, and Lem agreed to keep his true identity a secret from the rest of his squad. Alex then went to do his guard duty and met Legosi, getting himself properly acquainted with the gray wolf. Their conversation didn't last long, though.

Legosi brushed up against a Night Howler flower and went savage, nearly attacking Haru. Somehow, though, the wolf managed to imprint on Haru, saving her life and creating a very unique relationship. Alex gave Legosi the antidote, and they parted ways for the evening.

The next day, Alex broke up a fight between two students, and earned praise from Louis. Louis had injured his leg, so Alex gave the deer some painkillers that would last until the drama club's performance of Adler. Alex made a promise to Louis that he would do everything in his power to help the red deer become the next Beastar.

Haru discovered Alex's secret after the wolf pulled his taser out on her in an attempt to keep the bunny from sleeping with him. Later in the day, Alex discovered that the drama club recruited animals with dark secrets. For example, the fourteen-year-old Sheila the cheetah had previously been a dominatrix at a female carnivore club.

Time flew by at that point until the evening of the first performance of Adler. Everything went smoothly… until the curtains fell down and the performance ended. Louis collapsed and fell unconscious, being moved to the school infirmary.

That evening, Alex encountered a demonic presence that had taken control of Bill the tiger, who was another member of the drama club. With help from Els, Alex was able to exorcise the demon and remove it from Bill's body, although the visions that the demon had shown Bill would leave scars on his psyche for years to come.

As Alex and Els kept Bill company in the school infirmary, they received news that Ellen, the zebra actress who played the female lead in Adler, had suffered a severe allergic reaction.

This meant that three members of the drama club were now unavailable to perform in the second and final performance. In a last gambit, Louis named Legosi to replace his role, Alex to replace Bill's role, and Haru would replace Ellen's role. This was a bold and desperate move on Louis's part, as Haru was not officially a member of the drama club.

Everything worked out in the end, though, and the performance went splendidly. Legosi became a viable contender for the position of the school's next Beastar; his performance as the main character was that good.

The next few days passed without incident, but things took a turn for the worse when Legosi found himself on the wrong side of town. Being the hero that he was, Alex rushed off to save the gray wolf, but ended up getting captured by the "doctor" of the black market, Gouhin the panda. After the doctor evaluated Legosi and discovered that the gray wolf had imprinted on Haru, the panda decided to have Alex keep an eye on Legosi for research purposes.

Gouhin wanted to figure out the psychological secrets of imprinting and how it impacted the mind of a predator animal. But imprinting cases were exceedingly rare, and the panda wasn't about to let this opportunity pass him by.

Gouhin made Alex give Legosi and Haru biometric watches that would track their vitals and emotions as well as their coordinates. In exchange for planting the watches on the couple, Gouhin would psychologically profile all of the predator members of the drama club in order to narrow the suspect list of who could have possibly killed Tem.

The biometric watches would end up saving Haru's life. The morning after Alex gave the watches to the two animals, Haru was kidnapped by the Shishigumi. Alex had to work together with Louis and Legosi to rescue Haru before she was eaten. Alex gave them full body gear they charged into the mansion to save her.

At first, when confronted by the chief lion, Haru was ready to die and prepared herself to be eaten. But then, something happened. Something within her changed. She no longer was afraid of being eaten. Instead, the white dwarf rabbit was consumed by the overwhelming desire to live.

She took a knife and stabbed the chief lion in the stomach, before Legosi came in and rescued her. This type of event is referred to as a "Trigger Point" where a prey animal becomes so afraid in a life or death situation that their fear is abandoned and replaced by the desire to keep living.

Meanwhile Alex and Louis chased after the chief lion, and Alex took two bullets to the leg. Louis unloaded several rounds of ammunition into the Shishigumi leader's body, killing him. Alex would not leave Louis behind, and was prepared to make his final stand protecting Louis. The red deer, however, wouldn't allow Alex to do so. With all of his might, Louis pushed the wolf off of the balcony and Alex landed on the ground, before being taken away by Gouhin for medical treatment.

After Alex rested and recuperated at a hotel with Legosi and Haru, he dropped them back off at Cherryton Academy and regrouped with Lem. The two of them returned to the Shishigumi manor, ready to fight off the miniature army of lions and save Louis, or avenge him if the deer had been killed.

Instead, to their shock and surprise, the lions of the Shishigumi had named Louis as their new leader. Alex was unable to persuade Louis to abandon this path of crime, and left the house with nothing gained.

That evening, under the light of the moon at the town's meteor festival celebration, Alex reunited with Legosi, Haru, and his lover, Judy Hopps. Judy agreed to train Haru to defend herself, and saw potential in the white dwarf rabbit. Haru began to wonder if she should become a cop like Judy.

As for Legosi and Alex, the white wolf officer showed Legosi Gouhin's psychological profiles. The list of suspects had been narrowed down to four: Sheila the cheetah, Aoba the eagle, Bill the tiger, and Riz the bear. Only a medium to large size predator could have killed and devoured Tem the way that his remains were found. The two wolves agreed to work together to bring Tem's killer to justice.

Which brought him back to the present. Alex was hanging out with the dancer's group of the drama club. His reason for doing so was to investigate Sheila. Although the wolf didn't believe that the cheetah was the killer, the profile was a 65% match, which was worth investigation. Right now, he was hanging out with the dance members of the drama club, and was about to make his move.

Alex watched Sheila the cheetah dance and jump around. The wolf had to admit that Sheila was fast, and moved with grace. Something about her positive attitude also reminded him of his old friend Benjamin Clawhauser, the chubby cheetah receptionist that worked the front desk of the Zootopia police department. Though Clawhauser wasn't always fat like that. When Alex had joined the force, Clawhauser was super skinny and slender, ready to serve.

But after a few years on the force, and consuming a high amount of donuts, Clawhauser had become a chubby cheetah who was more fat than muscle. Clawhauser was nowhere near as fast as he used to be, but he used his extra weight to his advantage. Clawhauser could take quite a few bullets and punches, even saving Alex's life once or twice.

Time to stop reminiscing and actually make a move. The wolf stood up and paused the music that was playing from Sheila's computer. "You do well dancing solo, Sheila. But let's see how you dance when you have a partner," Alex challenged.

Sheila batted her eyelashes at the white wolf. "Sure thing!" Sheila replied. Alex took her paws in his, and the two of them began dancing.

"You know, it's nice to actually dance with someone my height for once," Alex remarked as the two of them twirled and stepped around the stage. Sheila chuckled. "

What do you mean by that?" the cheetah sniggered.

"Well, my girlfriend's a bunny. So when we dance together, it's kind of awkward," Alex answered.

Sheila chuckled. "You're quite strange, Alex… what's your last name again?" Sheila said.

"Moon. Alex Moon. Though my last name isn't actually Moon. I made that name up when I was living on the streets of Zootopia," Alex answered. "You're from Zootopia?" Sheila asked. Alex nodded. "Yes, I am. Why do you ask?" Alex wondered.

"My dad knows an Alex. From what he's told me, you remind me a lot of him, though he couldn't possibly be you," Sheila said.

"Really? How so?" Alex questioned. The wolf was starting to become nervous, and his eyes scanned the room for anyone else that might be listening in. Thankfully, Els and the other girls were engrossed in their phones.

"Well, he's tall, noble, and brave. The mysterious type. And he's got a good moral compass. My dad took a bullet for him once," Sheila explained.

"You keep mentioning this dad of yours. What's his name?" Alex inquired.

Sheila hesitated for a moment before responding. "Benjamin Clawhauser. He's a member of the Zootopia Police Department," she told him.

Alex was shocked to hear about this. Clawhauser had a daughter? The cheetah cop had never mentioned this before, and the two officers were extremely close with each other. Yet Benji never bothered to tell Alex about his daughter. "Why are you at Cherryton if your dad is in Zootopia?" Alex asked.

The music stopped, and Sheila sat down on the nearby bench. "It's a long story," Sheila sighed.

Alex took a seat on the bench next to her. He put a paw on her shoulder comfortingly. "My ears are always open for long stories," Alex replied. Sheila

took a deep breath before telling Alex the tragic event that would ruin her life. "So when I was ten, Dad arrested a really notorious criminal, this serial killer named RakTizon Wolfgang. But he escaped from jail the following evening, and..," Sheila trailed off.

Alex was horrified. He was actually the biological son of Logan Wolfgang, who was RakTizon's father. This made RakTizon his older biological brother. It was a cosmic miracle that Alex was even born, and he didn't have a single strand of hybrid DNA in him. But Alex had abandoned the Wolfgang family when he was five years old, running away from the group of murderers.

It was his deepest regret that he and the ZPD hadn't brought RakTizon to justice. They had escaped the borders of Zootopia and set up a base in a small town that was a moderate distance away from Zootopia, and their criminal activities and debauchery was still continuing to this day.

"I remember it like it was yesterday. Me and Mom were sitting at the dinner table, and we were eating a nice fish filet. Then, that… m-monster… broke into our house. He was pretty angry that Dad had caught him, and he… He aimed the gun at me, and mom pushed me out of the way. He grabbed her by the tail, and… he tore her stomach and organs out. Ate some of her liver, right in front of my eight-year-old eyes. Then he broke the window and exited the house, though I know that he would have killed me if he didn't think the cops were on their way. Dad got back less than five minutes later, but it was already too late. She was dead," Sheila sadly said.

A few tears rolled down her face, and she wiped her face off with a handkerchief. The cheetah sobbed, reliving all those painful memories. "After that night… things were never the same. Dad blamed himself for Mom's death, saying that he never should have gone after that asshole because it put me and Mom at risk. He drowned his sorrows by stuffing himself with as much food as he could buy. Dad sent me away to Cherryton to live with my aunt and uncle, not wanting me to see what he would become," Sheila finished the story.

"I'm really sorry for your loss, Sheila. But… how's your relationship with your dad now?" Alex asked.

Sheila smiled. "Thankfully, we managed to reconnect a few years later. We call each other every two weeks or so. When I graduate from here… I might go back to Zootopia to live with him," Sheila wistfully said.

"He'd like that," Alex immediately responded.

Sheila nodded. "I think he would like that too," Sheila agreed.

Alex stood up. He now knew in his heart that Sheila couldn't be Tem's killer. No animal could bring themself to eat meat after witnessing what RakTizon could do up close and personal. "Sheila… I need to get going now. Thank you for telling me all of this," Alex told her. He now felt a deep connection with the female cheetah. Perhaps, one day, after Tem's killer was brought to justice and he didn't need to maintain his cover, Alex would tell Sheila about his ties to the Wolfgang family.

After hearing Sheila's dark backstory, Alex goes back to Room 701 to take a break. Then, Legosi asks Alex for some help! Something's wrong with Jack? 

Be here for the next thought-provoking chapter of BEASTARS: Converging Destinies!

Chapter 30: A Debate Of The Soul! Can Dogs Truly Feel Sad?

Chapter Text

Alex was back at the carnivore dorms, heading to room 701. It was more like a suite than a room, to be exact. Collot had brought his TV and DVD system from his home, and something about the canines at room 701 always brought a smile to Alex's face.

It wasn't just Legosi there that made Alex happy. In the time since he and Legosi had agreed to work together on the investigation, Alex had begun forming bonds with all of the canines there. Voss, Miguno, Durham, and Collot had gladly accepted Alex as a new member of their pack.

Alex had never been much of a pack mentality kind of wolf, but for some reason he felt happy when Collot and the others yelled that he was a member of their pack now. The only one of the 701 boys that Alex hadn't really connected with was Jack.

The Labrador retriever always was a little distant with him. Alex thought that might be because Jack resented him for taking his best friend away from him.

Right now, Jack and Legosi were out on the balcony staring at the moon. At least that's what Alex thought they were doing, as he was looking through his notes on the investigation. All of a sudden, he heard Legosi clearing his throat. Alex looked up from his notes and saw Legosi staring at Alex. Something was troubling the gray wolf.

"What's wrong, Legosi?" Alex asked worriedly.

"Alex, I need your help. It's Jack," Legosi told him.

Alex was mystified. Legosi was Jack's best friend, yet Legosi was turning to Alex for help? "Jack? He's your best friend, not mine," Alex curiously said.

"I know, but… This is the kind of problem that you have more experience with. It's um, an emotions problem," Legosi explained.

Alex nodded. "Tell me," Alex insisted.

"Jack's been having trouble feeling sad or something. I was a little confused by what he was saying… I think you have the best chance of helping him solve this problem," Legosi replied.

Alex walked to the balcony and saw Jack staring at the moon. "Legosi tells me you've been feeling sad lately, Jack. What seems to be the problem?" Alex asked.

Jack sighed, his tail drooping. "It's not that I'm feeling sad, it's the fact that I can't feel sad," Jack elaborated. Alex was intrigued. "What do you mean, you can't feel sad?" the wolf wondered, his curiosity piqued. "You probably know this already, but dogs weren't naturally created. They were-" Jack began.

"Created, due to the result of breeding after the predator/prey war about two hundred and fifty years ago," Alex interrupted. Jack looked a little taken aback.

"You know the real history of the world? Only the top students in the special class are taught this stuff!" Jack gasped.

Alex frowned. "In Zootopia, we don't create fake history. We accept history for how it is," Alex replied. Alex wasn't too surprised that Cherryton Academy only taught the full history of the world to the smartest animals in the school.

Although the information was easily accessible to those who looked for it, and it was offered as an elective course in most colleges, Alex understood why Cherryton omitted certain parts of history from the standard courses. The information taught in the full history class was not for the underdeveloped mind. It was serious business, and sometimes it was better to keep certain things out of the public, like how the Lionheart administration had tried to keep the Night Howler incidents under wraps.

Jack nodded, absorbing that information. "Well, you see… dogs were bred with specific purposes in mind. We're meant to be smarter than most animals, but… it's like we're robots, made only to accomplish whatever task is given to us," Jack explained. Alex's head bobbed up and down, motioning for the Labrador retriever to continue.

"That's not the worst part of being a dog, though. The worst part of being a dog is that we can't feel sad," Jack sorrowfully said.

Alex was shocked by this idea. "Dogs can't feel sad?!" Alex repeated.

Jack abashedly nodded his head. "We can't feel sad, and we can't cry. We can't hate anyone either," Jack sadly continued. He brought out an onion that he had kept in his pocket, and Alex was horrified at the sight.

Consuming an onion was basically the equivalent of eating cyanide for a canine animal. He snatched the onion away from him and tossed it out into the streets. "What the hell are you carrying onions with you for?!" Alex scolded.

"Because I like cutting them! They make me cry, and they're the only way I can really feel sad!" Jack cried out.

"Who told you that dogs can't feel sad?! Because you're acting awfully sad right now!" Alex growled. This gave Jack pause. If he couldn't feel sad, then why did he feel like crying? He knew he couldn't actually cry without the help of onions, due to his biology. But it didn't stop his emotions from wanting to cry.

"Can I feel sad?" Jack thought out loud.

Alex put a paw on Jack's shoulder, causing the labrador to turn and face Alex. The wolf stared into Jack's eyes, and the yellow dog felt as if the white wolf was peering into his soul. "Your species of animal doesn't deprive you of your right to happiness… or sadness for that matter. Jack, I'm going to prove to you that you can feel sad," Alex told the dog.

Jack was intrigued by Alex's statement, staring at the older wolf with curiosity in his eyes. "How are you going to prove that?" the puppy wondered.

"By asking you a series of questions," Alex answered. Jack straightened up, curious to know what sorts of questions Alex would ask.

"First question. Legosi told me that his pet beetle died a couple of days ago, while he and I were out saving Haru. Is this true?" Alex began. Jack was confused by the question. "Yes, Kabu died a few days ago. But how does that question pertain to me being sad?" Jack pondered.

"I'll get to that after we finish. Next question. Now, how did you feel when you found out that Kabu passed on?" Alex continued. Jack contemplated this for a minute before giving a response.

"I was pretty bummed out. Legosi really cared for that beetle. He's so compassionate about bugs. He's got a special connection with insects, it's almost as if they listen to him," Jack answered.

Alex took that in for a few seconds before continuing. "Good, good. Now, I know for a fact that you and Legosi have known each other since you were kids. Were you Legosi's friend when his mother died?" Alex resumed.

Jack got a little uncomfortable. It was almost like Alex was grilling him for information. He remembered when Leano (Legosi's mom) had died and the cops had come to Legosi's house. They asked Jack a ton of questions, trying to be gentle, but were insensitive.

Alex was like that, only he was a lot more gentle and kind with his questioning. He had a sneaking suspicion that Alex was a cop. Ever since he had met the white wolf, Jack knew there was something off about him. His suspicions had only deepened when Legosi had told the labrador about how Alex had a Night Howler antidote.

And the way Alex carried himself didn't match with behavior normal for most wolves his supposed age. Alex acted like a fully mature adult wolf, and Jack wasn't too convinced that this demeanor was simply because Alex had grown up as a homeless kid on the streets of Zootopia.

"Jack? Hey Jack! Please answer me," Alex called out, breaking Jack's train of thought.

"Sorry!" Jack apologized before returning to the question. "I was heartbroken when I found out that Legosi's mom had passed away. I felt really sorry for Legosi too," Jack said.

Alex clapped his paws together. "That right here is proof that you can feel sad. Leano's death, Kabu's death… and the fact that you're so upset about the idea of not being able to cry. Crying does not equate sadness, you see, although they are linked together. You don't have to cry in order to feel sad, and you don't have to feel sad in order to cry." Alex told Jack.

Jack gasped. Alex was right! He didn't have to be able to cry in order to feel sad! His tail started to wag happily. "Thanks, Alex. You were a big help," Jack thanked the white wolf, before tackling him in a hug. Alex smiled. The labrador pup was back to his usual happy, cheery, and bubbly self.

"You're welcome, Jack. Maybe we can be friends," Alex replied.

"Of course we can be friends!" Jack giggled, hugging Alex tighter.

Legosi watched the two of them embracing each other like old friends, and smiled. Now, all of the 701 canines were truly a pack together. For the first time ever in his life, Legosi was compelled to howl at the moon. This astonished Jack, as he had never heard Legosi howl in all of the years that the labrador had known him. "Alex… Legosi… I'm glad the two of you are my ancestors," Jack thought to himself.

Sheila makes a call to her father about a certain animal that she's fallen in love with, after some encouragement and supporting words from Alex. Next time, on BEASTARS: Converging Destinies!

Chapter 31: Calling Clawhauser! Cats And Dogs CAN Get Along!

Chapter Text

Three days later, Alex was wandering around the school. He needed a quiet, secluded place to think. But where in the school would he be able to be practically uninterrupted with the ability to be alone in his thoughts on the investigation? He pondered this for a minute, before it hit him. The library! Of course! Hardly any kids these days read actual books.

Alex started running towards the school library. On the night where Legosi had accidentally brushed up against the Night Howler flower, the gray wolf had taken Alex on a tour of the school grounds to pass the time. He got to the library and opened the door up. The librarian clerk looked up from her desk. "My word, hello there! We rarely get students in here nowadays," the librarian, a female gazelle, said excitedly.

"That's a shame. Let me guess, is it because the internet makes it much easier to access information?" Alex guessed. "You're exactly right," The gazelle confirmed.

"The internet is nice and all, but nothing beats the feeling of touching a book and turning the pages, having your eyes glued to the contents of the book," Alex sighed happily.

The librarian put a paw to her chest, her eyes fluttering in appreciation. "Few people these days really appreciate the feeling of a book in your paws. Aside from Jack-kun, you're one of the only students I've seen here," the librarian told him.

Alex's ears perked up. Jack was also here? "Jack comes here too?" the white wolf asked.

The librarian bobbed her head up and down. "Yes, in fact, he's been in one of the rooms on the upper floor for a few hours now. Over the past few days, this cheetah girl has been frequenting the library as well. She always comes and visits Jack," The librarian continued. Alex thanked the librarian for having a conversation with him before climbing the stairs and finding the room that Jack was in.

Using his nose, Alex was easily able to identify the labrador's scent and trace it to one of the rooms. He opened the door and saw Jack and Sheila holding paws, sitting across from one another at a desk table. The cheetah and canine were staring into the other's eyes, and Alex instantly knew that the two of them were in a relationship. The sound of the door opening alerted the two lovers to Alex's presence, causing them to break holding paws and heavily blush in embarrassment.

"O-oh! Alex! I-I didn't know you went to the l-library!" Jack squeaked, extremely nervous.

"Libraries are a magical place. I literally lived in a library for a few years of my life," Alex responded. Jack's eyes widened. "Really? I didn't know!" Jack replied.

Alex then looked at Sheila, causing the cheetah to blush. "And Sheila, what are you doing here?" Alex wondered.

Sheila anxiously drummed her paw digits on the table, searching for an answer. "Jack asked me to review his paper, so I came to help him out," Sheila answered. It wasn't entirely a lie- she had come to look over Jack's paper.

But then they had gotten to talking with each other and lost track of time, which was how she found herself in her current predicament. Even though she trusted Alex enough to tell him about her family, she wasn't ready for the whole school to learn about her relationship with Jack.

"A paper, eh? What kind of paper is it?" Alex asked, intrigued. Jack opened his computer up and pulled the document up before showing it to Alex. The wolf scrolled through the document, his eyes scanning through the words and absorbing the information at a rapid pace. Alex was having trouble believing what was in front of his eyes.

This was no ordinary high school paper. What Jack had written was much more advanced than anything a normal high school would require. Alex could tell that Jack had been very passionate about writing this essay, and had put his heart and soul into writing it.

The topic that Jack was writing about was the way that carnivore/herbivore relationships worked. The amount of research that the labrador had done was immense, even including information on his romantic relationship with Judy Hopps.

"What the hell?" Alex muttered. Jack's ears drooped in disappointment. "Do you… not think it's good?" Jack shamefully murmured. "No, not at all Jack. I said 'what the hell', as in, 'what the hell is a high school student doing writing a college graduate thesis?'" Alex replied, complete awe and amazement filling his voice.

Jack's eyes lit up and his tail started wagging rapidly. "You really think it's that good?!" Jack excitedly said. "Absolutely! You're a lot smarter than your standard run of the mill dog, Jack. You're like, a super genius. The level of quality this paper has is even higher than the thesis paper I wrote to graduate from the ZPD academy," Alex told Jack.

As soon as the words left his mouth, Alex instantly knew he had slipped up. He slapped himself in the face, angry at his stupidity. "Oh, don't be so upset Alex. Jack figured out that you were a cop a month ago. I realized his theory was right after you talked to me in the drama club earlier this week," Sheila reassuringly said. Alex shook his head, clearing his thoughts. Change the topic, the wolf told himself.

"So, Sheila, Jack. How long have the two of you been an item?" Alex asked curiously. The feline and canine couple blushed. "Two months now," Jack sheepishly admitted.

"That's wonderful! Sheila, have you told your dad?" Alex asked. The cheetah shook her head. "Not yet," Sheila revealed. "You should," Alex advised.

"Really? You really think that I should tell him?" Sheila asked. Alex nodded in response. Sheila gazed at her phone, a little nervous. "But what if he rejects me?" Sheila wondered.

"Sheila, don't worry. Even if your dad rejects you because you're in love with me, I'll always stand by you," Jack reassured her.

"I worked with your dad for several years on the police force, Sheila. He fully supports interspecies relationships… In fact, he's the biggest WildeHopps shipper in the department," Alex revealed. 'Wildehopps' was a pet name that had been coined after Judy and Nick had been credited with saving Zootopia.

To this day, Alex was still a little miffed that he hadn't gotten any of the credit, but he supposed it was due to the fact that he was under the effects of the Night Howler serum when Bellwether was arrested.

Sheila cracked a smile. "All right, I'm in. Let's do this," Sheila said. She fired up the Swype app on her computer and started a video call with her dad. It rang for about half a minute before Clawhauser picked up on his end.

The chubby cheetah's face filled the screen. Clawhauser was sitting at the ZPD front desk as usual. "Sheila! Sweetie, it's great to see you!" Clawhauser gushed, excited to talk to his daughter.

Sheila couldn't help but smile. Her dad was a great animal to be around or listen to. Something about his bubbly, euphoric personality brought smiles to animals all around. "Hey, Dad. It's great to see you too," Sheila greeted her father. They talked about how their days had gone for a little while before Sheila decided it was time to tell him the truth.

"Hey, Dad, I didn't tell you this earlier, but… I've been seeing someone for about a month now," Sheila told him.

"You've been seeing him for a month and you didn't tell me?" Clawhauser exclaimed. Sheila blushed.

"Y-yeah… I was afraid you wouldn't like him. But after a bit of helpful advice from a friend, I thought I should tell you," Sheila explained.

"Well then! Who's the lucky boy, or girl?" Clawhauser inquired. The cheetah was no stranger to LBGT. "Well, dad, it's a guy, and his name is-" Sheila began.

"My name is Jack!" The labrador cut in, but he was still off-screen. The fat feline grinned. "Oh, so he's with you! Come on, don't be shy! I want to see his adorable face!" Clawhauser insisted.

Both Jack and Sheila hesitated for a second before Jack walked into the camera's view. Clawhauser gasped as he saw that his daughter was dating a dog. He grabbed the screen and pressed his face up to it, wanting to make absolutely sure that his eyes weren't deceiving him. "Sheila, is that a LABRADOR that you're dating?" Clawhauser asked, curiosity in his voice.

His daughter shifted nervously, anticipating a highly negative reaction from her dad. "Y-yeah… Jack, meet my dad. Dad, meet Jack. He's one of the smartest boys in the school, and he's MY good boy," Sheila told her father. Hearing the words "good boy" made Jack smile and wag his tail excitedly.

The cheetah backed his face away from the camera, before smiling. "He's absolutely ADORABLE !" Clawhauser squealed.

Sheila blinked. That certainly wasn't the reaction she had been expecting. "Y-y-you… like him?" Sheila stammered. She thought he'd be upset, or critical, not… happy for her!

"Oh, Sheila. The species of animal that you fall in love with doesn't matter. It's their soul that matters. Our family has the souls of heroes, and a smart boy like Jack would easily fall for a hero like you," Clawhauser revealed.

Sheila shifted her weight around uncomfortably. Her dad had always talked about how his side of the family was descended from some ancient hero who was a member of some guardian society called "The Lion Guard". But she didn't WANT to be a hero. She wanted a normal life with Jack.

"When you graduate, Sheila, maybe you and Jack could come and visit me in Zootopia!" Clawhauser then suggested, bringing Sheila out of her thoughts.

Jack nodded enthusiastically. "I've always wanted to visit Zootopia!" Jack enthusiastically responded. "Yeah, and maybe you could come and attend the graduation ceremony!" Sheila said.

Clawhauser slapped his face playfully. "Gosh, why didn't I think of that! That's a wonderful idea! Of course I'm going to come to your graduation, Sheila sweetie. I'll take the two of you out to dinner somewhere in Cherryton," Clawhauser told them. The feline and canine couple nodded their heads in agreement.

"It was great meeting you, Mr. Clawhauser!" Jack told the officer. "Oh, the pleasure is mine, pup! Sheila, I will always love you. Remember that. Bye~!" Clawhauser reassured his daughter, before hanging up.

Jack and Sheila sat in silence for a minute, before they embraced and hugged each other happily. "He likes me!" Jack squealed joyfully. He felt drops streaming down his face, an unfamiliar sensation for the labrador. Alex gasped. "Jack… you're crying!" the wolf exclaimed.

"I-I am?!" Jack gasped, finally noticing the tears that were streaming down his face. How was he crying? Dogs couldn't cry. That was the whole reason he cut up onions when he was sad, so he could force himself to cry.

"Let me offer my two cents on the situation?" Sheila offered. The cheetah girl had an idea as to how Jack was able to cry in this situation. Alex gestured for her to continue.

"Jack, these tears aren't because you're sad. They're tears of joy!" Sheila explained. Alex realized she was right. Sadness wasn't the only emotion that could evoke crying within an animal. Extreme states of happiness and joy were also able to provoke such reactions.

"Sheila-san… I'm so happy I could kiss you!" Jack sobbed. Sheila didn't hesitate for a single second. She locked her lips with the labrador and the two made out with each other, sharing the most passionate kiss that had ever been seen in the library.

Next chapter, we check in on Louis and how he's doing as the new boss of the Shishigumi! He acts all fine, but is our favorite red deer really feeling 100%? Stay tuned for the next exciting chapter of BEASTARS: Converging Destinies!

Chapter 32: The Treasure Chest In The Manor's Basement! The Shishigumi Dad, Ibuki!

Chapter Text

The Black Market. It was the place that Louis now called his home. He was enjoying his new life immensely. No longer did he have to deal with the stresses of school and the drama club. Nor did he have to live under the expectations and pressure of rising to become the next Beastar. In the Black Market, Louis had full control of his life.

Now the leader of the Shishigumi, the criminal gang of lions, Louis was garnering the respect of carnivores all throughout the dark side of Cherryton. Carnivores and herbivores alike looked at him with a mixture of emotions- awe, amazement, shock, and even fear. He especially enjoyed being feared. It was rather poetic, with predators being afraid of prey for once in their lives.

At the current moment, he and the Shishigumi were attempting to secure a deal with a turtle who was the owner of a butchery. The turtle was being stubborn and unwilling to listen to the deal, due to some of the lions having caused some chaos in the shop previously. "All right, Boss. I'll leave the negotiations to you," Ibuki announced.

The gang of lions stepped aside, allowing their leader to step forward. "If that's the case, then allow me to make it up to you," Louis spoke. He walked forward, the turtle's eyes widening as he saw the deer's figure approach him.

"The Shishigumi may have caused trouble for you in the past… but you won't have to worry anymore. These ferocious, feisty felines are being trained by me, their new boss," Louis announced.

The turtle's maw gaped, shocked at the sight his eyes were showing him. "I can't believe the rumors about the new herbivore boss are true…!" the turtle exclaimed.

"I wish to make the black market a safer place for all animals. I can tell you have financial problems, and I can help you rectify them. A new contract between your shop and the new Shishigumi will be a small but significant step towards a better, safer black market," Louis began. The turtle took that into consideration, stroking his chin thoughtfully.

"You see, right now, carnivores need 'allowance'... if even a single herbivore recommends the black market's services to a carnivore, it'll attract plenty of customers. It's a wise deal that'll contribute to making the whole city of Cherryton a safer place. You'd be a fool not to accept this proposition," Louis continued.

"Don't you know that I sell deer meat here?" the shop owner asked, clearly unsettled by Louis's intimidating presence. "Does it look like I care?" Louis coldly replied. The rest of the business deal went smoothly after that.

That afternoon, Alex came by to visit the lion gang and check up on Louis. To say that the white wolf was unhappy would be an understatement. Alex was extremely upset by Louis's decision to stick with the Shishigumi, and it was clear that some of the Shishigumi lions were also apprehensive about the deer's continued presence.

But the Shishigumi's opinions of Louis didn't matter to Alex. The wolf cop was more concerned about Louis's health. He could tell that the deer had lost a sizable amount of weight in the week since he had been inducted as the criminal organization's boss. That wasn't the only cause of concern for the wolf, though; Louis looked sickly and unwell, and the deer no longer had the same amount of life that he had previously.

The lions and Louis were drinking apple juice from their champagne glasses as well as devouring poultry drumsticks, grilled pork, and steak. The Shishigumi had decided to swear off the drinking of alcohol after Louis had joined.

Though none of them were addicted to the alcoholic substances, the felines had all agreed that they shouldn't be drinking around their boss, to set a good example for him. Besides, wine was expensive, and even though Louis was clearly far more mature in mind than most animals his age, he was still a minor, and drinking could have adverse effects on his body.

While they dined on their carnivorous meal, Alex was eating his peanut butter and jelly sandwich and talking with Ibuki. "Bringing Louis into the family truly was the right decision, I say. We haven't eaten food this good in ages!" Ibuki merrily declared.

"The family? Ibuki, you're starting to sound like a character from The Godfather," Alex chuckled.

In his time spent around the Shishigumi, Alex had observed that there seemed to be a family dynamic between all of the lions. Most of the lions treated Agata like the little brother, and treated each other as brothers. The one lion that they didn't treat as a brother was Ibuki; instead, they treated Ibuki like he was their father. Some of the lions even called the elderly feline "Dad".

"You know, from the standpoint of a deer… you Shishigumi lions make using your feral instincts a heck of a lot easier than it seems," Louis noted in between bites of steak.

"Heh, that's a bit mean, Boss!" Jinma jokingly said. "Don't sell yourself short, Boss. The line between controlling feral instincts and giving into them is a very fine one," Free replied.

"He's right, you know. Eating this much meat and keeping your instincts in check is a never-ending battle. Consuming too much meat can cause a weaker-minded predator to see the prey animals around him as food and attack them. It's happened before in the black market," Ibuki told the deer. The glasses-wearing lion didn't want to admit it, but he was in conflict with his instincts about Louis.

A part of Ibuki's instincts was telling him to try and eat Louis. His sense of honor and respect helped keep those desires to hunt him in check, but Ibuki was unsure of how much longer he would be able to keep that side of him in check. This is why on the day that Louis had been sworn in as the new leader, Ibuki had pulled Free aside and made him promise to kill him if he ever tried to attack Louis.

Louis stood up from the table and began to head off to his room. "You're done already, Boss?" Agata asked, surprised that the deer was finished eating; his plate still had about a third of his steak left. "Don't compare my stomach's size to yours. I'll be upstairs planning our futures. You felines can fight over my leftovers," Louis told them. Alex noted how Ibuki's eyes had a concerned, worried expression in them, and how Ibuki never took his eyes off of the red deer.

After a few more minutes of conversation, Ibuki stood up. "Alex. Why don't you and I go and check on Louis?" the gang's second-in-command suggested. Alex nodded in agreement.

As they went upstairs to see their friend, Dolph and Free stood up. "Hey, Free, Sabu! Let's go to the basement! Our old leader never let us go down there, he said he had a lot of relics or something down there. Let's go and check it out!" Dolph proposed. Free and Sabu nodded their heads in agreement.

Sabu put his bandana back on before following his gang brothers downstairs. The only time that Sabu ever took his bandana off was to eat meals with the other Shishigumi. The lower half of his face was not a pretty sight, to say the least. There were several claw scars and missing chunks of fur around his muzzle and on his chin.

Ten years ago, at the age of twenty-four, Sabu had been viciously assaulted by the monitor lizard gang the Dorugumi and the fox gang Inarigumi while he was heading back to his house. The lizards used their venom to burn off parts of his face fur, and the Inarigumi foxes had clawed his face up pretty badly.

Ibuki had found him unconscious in the back alleyways and brought him back to the mansion, nursing him back to health. Out of gratitude for Ibuki's actions, Sabu joined the Shishigumi, but always wore his bandana. His self-consciousness forced himself to wear that bandana, he couldn't bear to look at his face afterwards.

Back in the present, Sabu, Dolph, and Free turned the light switch on in the basement. They saw a long hallway that had two suits of knight armor that looked straight out of medieval times. There was a treasure chest at one end of the hallway, as well as two branching paths that led to side rooms.

Free peered into one of the side rooms, seeing a long table with old maps pinned to the wall. Their previous boss had said that the house was used for the predator resistance group during the great carnivore/herbivore war two hundred fifty years ago. "Wicked," Free breathed. He could practically feel the history lingering in the air.

Meanwhile, Dolph jimmied the lock open on the treasure chest. The storage container opened with a loud CREEAAAKKKK! Inside the treasure chest was a cache of primitive weapons. There were swords, daggers, crossbows, and other deadly implements in there. "Woah, guys! I think we just hit the motherload of treasure!" Dolph marveled.

Meanwhile, Ibuki and Alex were heading upstairs, and they could hear moaning and groaning coming from Louis's room. Their paces quickened from a casual walk to a worried sprint, the lion and wolf bursting through the door to find Louis coughing and kneeling on the ground weakly.

"Louis! What the hell happened to you?!" Ibuki demanded. "I knew I couldn't survive off of only meat…" Louis weakly muttered.

"You idiot! You mean you've been eating meat exclusively for the past week!?" Alex cried out in horror. Louis nodded, feebly grinning. "I wanted to evolve past my old, weak, pathetic self. I wanted to become a carnivore like you and the other lions…" Louis lamented.

Ibuki reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a salad. He had been planning on giving it to Louis after dinner, but the deer needed proper nourishment NOW. "Louis, take this! It's a salad, it'll help you get better," Ibuki said, handing the deer the salad package.

The deer slapped it away. "I don't need to eat that leafy crap," Louis growled. "Louis, listen to yourself. You're dying! If you keep going on like this you'll starve to death!" Alex howled in anger and anguish.

Ibuki grabbed the package and tore it open, taking the plastic fork and stabbing part of the salad with it. "Louis, you're my friend. I won't let you carry on like this! I can't bear to see you suffer this way," Ibuki told him.

"Do you take me for a fool!? Those are vegetables, and as the leader of the Shishigumi I won't take any part in-" Louis began to protest. In a single swift motion, Ibuki thrust the bite of salad into Louis's mouth as the deer tried to argue with him.

"Damn it, Louis! Quit neglecting your body already! You're not only important to the Shishigumi, you're the only one in this town that has a chance of truly making this forsaken meat market a better place. Most of all… you're my friend!" Ibuki snarled.

Alex was touched by the concern that Ibuki was showing for Louis. "Okay, dad !" Louis sighed in frustration and annoyance after he chewed and swallowed the bite of salad that Ibuki had force-fed him. "Now, mister, I'm going to stay here and make sure you eat this whole salad," Ibuki sternly said.

Louis was upset, but oddly felt fulfilled and very happy that Ibuki cared for him this way. This was something that Oguma had never done for him. Maybe the Shishigumi really could be a family for him.

Alex got up and started walking away. He tore down the stairs and entered the dining room. "Jinma! Go to the grocery store and buy a ton of salads," Alex ordered.

"Let me guess, is it for the boss?" Jinma replied. The 40-year-old lion didn't really like being ordered around by a wolf, but Louis had told all of the Shishigumi lions that if Alex told them to do something, then Alex had good reason for doing so, and that they should listen to him. Alex nodded in response, before sprinting out of the Shishigumi's mansion. It was time to try and bring Louis back to where he truly belonged- with his friends at Cherryton Academy.

"Where are you?" Alex texted Bill. "Me, Aoba, and Els went to the drama club, forgot that we didn't have practice today. LOL!" The tiger's reply message read.

"Stay where you are. I'm coming to meet with you," Alex texted back. Out of all of the animals in the school, he believed that Bill was the only one who stood a chance of bringing the red deer back to his senses.

Next chapter, Bill has a conversation with Aoba that demonstrates how he's grown since the possession incident. He shows a newfound sense of maturity! And we get to see how he found out that Louis originated from the Black Market! Stay tuned for the next intriguing chapter of CONVERGING DESTINIES!

Chapter 33: Bill All Grown Up!

Chapter Text

"Me and Aoba split up with Els, we went to get some sodas. We're at the bench by the soda machine," Bill texted Alex. He put his phone away, before taking a long, hearty sip of his soda. "So, Aoba. What are your plans for summer break?" The tiger asked. His eagle friend pondered that question for a moment before responding.

"I guess that my main plan is to practice a ton for my flying license. One of the few perks of being a bird," Aoba replied. Bill nodded enthusiastically.

"Yeah. Ever since Alex and Els stood by me when I got really sick over drinking that rabbit blood, I've become interested in reading about mythology, creation myths, and religion," Bill told Aoba. The bald eagle looked surprised; never in his wildest dreams did he think that Bill of all animals would take an interest in religion. Bill hadn't told anyone about the blood incident.

"Yeah, it's really neat stuff. There's this one story that's my favorite. Wanna hear it?" Bill offered. Aoba nodded, and gestured with his feathers for Bill to continue.

"So in the beginning, there were animals just like us, but they were mindless savages. Carnivores preyed on herbivores and didn't think at all. And carnivores weren't the highest on the food chain either. There was a race of ultimate predators that used tools and weapons to slay carnivores, called 'humans'," Bill began.

"Hoo-mans?" Aoba said, trying to pronounce the word correctly. Bill chuckled. "It's a 'u', not two 'o's," Bill snickered. Aoba blushed in embarrassment.

"Anyways, God got upset with them for some reason. He decided to start things over and caused a great apocalypse, taking those who were righteous and loyal to him to the heavens and casting the sinners into hell along with the devil. Then he remade all of the animals, imbuing them with sentience, and divided up the world," Bill continued.

"Divided up the world?" Aoba wondered.

"Yeah. He gave the oceans to the fish and other water-based creatures, the sky to the birds, and the land to the carnivores and herbivores. However, it took time for the herbivores and carnivores to evolve past their prejudices. They still viewed prey as food and ate them. That's why there's been so much conflict between carnis and herbs," Bill explained.

Aoba thought about that for a few minutes, before nodding. "Oddly enough, that makes a bit of sense. If I had heard that story when I was younger, I might have believed it," Aoba replied.

"Yeah, I know. This shit's really fascinating!" Bill exclaimed. They drank some more soda.

There was something else on Aoba's mind that he had to discuss with Bill, though. "I still can't believe you're friends with that herbivore…" Aoba muttered. "What, you mean Els?!" Bill huffed, a little surprised at Aoba's previous sentence.

"Yeah, I'm talking about Els! She's the ONLY herbivore you're friends with!" Aoba pointed out.

"So? Els is Els! She's nice, pretty, she has a good personality, and she and I get along well. She's a good female friend. And here you are, labelling her as a herbivore. Isn't that a bit speciesist?" Bill asked. Aoba glared at his best friend angrily.

"Don't you dare twist my words around like that! You asked that old dude if he was really selling his fingers for carnivores to eat, and if Alex hadn't been around, you would have paid to eat one of his fingers!" Aoba growled.

Bill was about to protest that he wouldn't have actually eaten one of the fingers, but Aoba pressed on. "And that evening, you went back to the black market to look for Legosi even though Alex said he would handle it! You never told any of us what actually happened to you when you went back there! I bet you ate his finger!" Aoba continued, his eyes blazing in anger.

Now Bill was angry. "The hell, Aoba?! At that time, I was so afraid for Legosi and Alex! I didn't dare eat any of the meat that they were selling, out of fear that the meat might have come from their corpses! And I found something in the black market that shocked me to my core. Something that made me decide to never eat meat from there again!" Bill retorted.

Though his fear that he might end up eating a piece of Alex or Legosi wasn't the only thing that kept him from sampling the meat at the black market. Most of the time, when his instincts and brain started to try and convince him that he absolutely had to try the meat, he pushed those thoughts away by concentrating on Els, and what she'd think of him if he ate the black market meat.

"Oh yeah?! What could you possibly have found that would have made you swear off eating meat?!" Aoba scoffed, disbelieving the tiger. Bill faltered for a moment. He had discovered an abandoned livestock holding facility there, as well as several documents containing pictures of the animals that had been held captive there. To his horror, many of the animals there were cubs that had been kidnapped from their homes and taken to the livestock facility.

One of the animals who had been imprisoned there was a young Louis. He couldn't believe that any carnivore could do such a monstrous thing. There was also an alpaca labeled '3', a bunny labeled '9', and a sheep labeled '7'. The sheep had more information about her: her name was Sebun Bellwether and was 12 years old when she arrived at the facility, managing to escape.

Bill explained all of this to Aoba, but omitted the parts about Louis out of respect for his deer friend. "Seeing those documents was like climbing the steps of adulthood," Bill concluded. Aoba nodded, before changing the subject.

"Though now that I think of it, Els isn't the only herbivore you're close with. Ever since that rehearsal right before the meteor festival, you and Louis-senpai have been thick as thieves. You seem to be pretty worried about that deer, if I do say so myself," Aoba replied, pulling out the school newspaper that the eagle had taken from the tiger's backpack.

Bill's eyes widened as he saw Aoba take a closer look at the school newspaper. The headline read, "Third-Year Valedictorian Louis (Red Deer) Still Missing". "You don't usually buy from the school paper, and this is a rather recent issue," Aoba commented.

"Hey, don't go snooping in my bag! It's summer break, so I have more free time! That's all!" Bill complained. The feline snatched the newsletter back from his best friend and stuffed it in his backpack. Aoba stared at him pointedly before Bill sighed and relented.

"He went and freaking vanished , man! He kept trampling over me… He's so arrogant and smug, despite his weak herbivore body. He's abrasive, and has an awful personality… I hated him at first. Then, I found out something about him. He's been through an awful lot in his life. That pompous personality he shows off in public is just a mask. We started to bond over how cruel the world was, and how it didn't care if you were a herbivore or a carnivore, life could just be an ass to you sometimes," Bill answered.

Aoba stayed silent as he saw tears form in Bill's eyes. "When Louis disappeared, I was really conflicted with my emotions. A part of me felt… glad that the deer was out of the picture. And then I thought more closely in depth about the situation. Without Louis around, I'm just… a villain…" The tiger sobbed. He sniffled, and Aoba wiped the tears from the tiger's eyes and patted him on the back comfortingly.

Bill felt a heavy weight in his front pocket. He had been carrying the papers that he had recovered from the livestock facility ever since he had visited there. Originally, Bill was going to give them to Louis in the leader's office, but he had decided to hold off on that when Louis opened up about his past to the tiger. Bill felt that he needed to give the deer time before he showed him the papers, as they might be an earth shattering revelation for the deer. "I have to find him," Bill muttered sorrowfully.

Alex stepped out from behind the tree. Bill let out a frightened noise that was a mixture between a snarl, a scream, and a yowl. "HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN HIDING THERE?" Bill yelped.

"Ever since the conversation about Els," Alex replied.

Bill relaxed, the tension leaving his body. "What did you need me for, Alex?" The tiger asked. "Come with me. Alone," Alex commanded.

Bill stood up and started to walk away. "Hey, what gives? Why can't I come along?" Aoba protested. Alex shot a dangerous, menacing glare at the eagle.

"This is a matter that does not concern you. Right now, Bill's the only one who can help me," Alex growled. He and Bill walked off.

"Alex, what's going on? If this is a super important matter, wouldn't calling on your friends in powerful places be a better idea?" Bill asked. "No, Bill. I believe that you're the only animal in the school who has a chance of saving Louis," Alex revealed.

Alex and Bill head to the black market to try and talk some sense into Louis. On the way there, Bill reveals something about Els! Can Bill really convince Louis to return to Cherryton? Plus, we learn about how Bill discovered Louis came from the black market! Find out on the next exciting chapter of BEASTARS: Converging Destinies!

Chapter 34: The Knights Of The Black Market! Bring Louis Back, Bill!

Chapter Text

Alex and Bill got in Alex's car and the wolf began driving. "Saving Louis!? What the heck happened to him?!" Bill cried out worriedly.

"Well, you know how me and Legosi went to save Haru from the Shishigumi? Louis came with us too. He threw me out of a window and forced me to leave him behind," Alex began.

Bill's eyes blazed with anger. "You LEFT HIM BEHIND!?" The tiger snarled, unsheathing his claws.

"Not my choice! He literally tossed me off of the second floor balcony! Gouhin dragged me off to treat my injuries. But that's not important. He's alive and well right now, but…" Alex continued. The wolf's tone became somber and melancholy, causing Bill to fear the worst for his deer friend.

"But what?! Is he being tortured? Harvested for meat?! And if that's the case, then why am I the one the only one who can help save him? Wouldn't your cop friends be more capable of helping you?" Bill gasped.

"No, it's worse… he's now the boss of the Shishigumi," Alex darkly said. Bill then shot Alex a funny look, taking a moment to process this information.

"He's the boss of that lion gang?!" Bill exclaimed.

"Yeah. The lions took a liking to him, they treat him like fuckin family. They're nice and all, they're not even bad animals. But you and I both know that the black market is no place for Louis," Alex replied. Bill thought about that before nodding.

"That still doesn't explain why you need me of all animals to help Louis. What even am I supposed to do?" Bill wondered.

"You're going to talk to Louis and try to convince him to come back to school and end this crime boss nonsense. As for why you out of all animals? You're the only other animal who knows about Louis's ruthless side, and that he originally came from the Black Market," Alex answered.

Bill gulped, now feeling the pressure of the situation on his shoulders. Alex saw the panicked, nervous expression on the tiger's face, and instantly knew he had to take the feline's mind off of his daunting task. "So, how're your friends?" Alex asked. Bill breathed a sigh of relief, before brightening up.

"Aoba's good, and Els is… well, she's Els," Bill responded.

Alex took note of how Bill blushed when talking about Els. That kind of blush was the same blush he saw Nick get when he talked about Judy whenever the bunny cop wasn't around. Alex decided to try pushing Bill a little bit. "What sorts of words would you use to describe our Angora goat friend, Bill?" Alex inquired.

Bill chuckled a little nervously before answering. "Well, you know! She's kind… pretty… great personality… a manga fan just like me… and kind of hot too! If she was a tigress, I would have nailed her already," Bill told Alex.

The white wolf smirked. "If I didn't know better, I'd say you had a crush on her! But that's impossible . You're only into tigresses with hot butt stripe patterns," Alex teased.

Bill's nervous smile quickly vanished, morphing into an embarrassed and angry look of shock. "H-HEY! I'm not in love with her or anything!" Bill protested. Alex recognized that tone of voice. It was the same tone that males would use whenever they were denying that they were in love with a female.

"Shit, you're actually falling in love with her!?" Alex cried out.

"M-m-maybe! What's your problem with it?" Bill argued.

"Bill, I'm going to be straight with you. I personally don't have anything against interspecies relationships. But, I've seen plenty of them go wrong. Knowing you, you might try and worm your way into sleeping with her. And sleeping with her can go all sorts of wrong since you're a predator and she's a prey. Having sex with Els would put her in a considerable amount of danger," Alex told him.

Bill stayed silent for a few minutes. "You're telling me that if we fuck, I might end up eating her or something?" Bill asked fearfully.

Alex nodded. "Exactly. You can't take any risks. Do you truly love Els, and you really want to spend the rest of your life with her?" Alex asked. "I… think?!" Bill hesitantly answered.

Alex sighed. "I'm going to set an appointment for you up with Gouhin. He'll be able to help you work through your emotions and figure out if your feelings for her are genuine or not. But right now, I need you to stay close to me, and don't wander off. We're at the entrance to the black market," Alex instructed. He parked the car and removed the key from the ignition.

Bill gulped nervously as he saw two animals standing in front of the entrance to the black market, dressed in suits of knight armor and carrying swords. "J-Jesus, they really beefed up the security of this place!" Bill cried out.

Alex looked up and saw the two armored animals, and peered closer, scrutinizing the faces that were underneath those metal helmets. He got out of the car, and Bill meekly followed behind. "HALT! Who dares to enter the sacred market of meat?" one of the knights cried out. Alex burst into laughter.

"Hahahaha! This is fuckin hilarious and awesome! Sabu, Free, where did you get this stuff?!" Alex asked. He recognized Free from the scar on his left eye.

"We went exploring in the manor basement and found these knight suits of armor and swords. Apparently the manor used to be a safe house during the great predator/prey war. Then Agata dared us to put the suits of armor on, saying he'd pay us fifty bucks. Then Louis came out of the room and started cracking up at the sight of us wearing these things," Free began.

"Oh, that's not even the best part! He made us swear loyalty to us and named us knights! Then he sent us to guard the entrance of the black market and told us to make sure that no students came in here. Speaking of students, I know for a fact that the tiger behind you is a student. He can't come in and buy meat," Sabu continued.

Bill shook his head. "Actually, I'm here to see a friend," Bill told them.

"He's with me, guys. We're here to talk to Louis," Alex told them. The two lions sheathed their swords, fumbling to put the swords back in their scabbards.

"Ah, you're here to talk to the boss! Very well then! Oh, I almost forgot. That scary gray wolf who saved the white dwarf rabbit? We saw him walking through the market on our way to the entrance. What do we do if he tries to leave?" Free asked.

Alex sighed. "He's free to come and go in the black market as he pleases. Don't get into a fight with him," Alex answered. Bill and the white wolf walked through the alleyways, Alex always keeping an eye on Bill to make sure he didn't get lured off or distracted by any of the vendors.

Bill looked a little uneasy, his eyes shut tight and continuously muttering to himself. "Think of Els, think of what she'd do to you if she found out you had eaten meat from this god-forsaken place…" Bill whispered to himself, redirecting his thoughts towards something else.

Alex was impressed. Clearly, Bill's love of Els was strong, more than simple meat lust that could be found in most pubescent carnivores his age. It was a good sign for his future together with the Angora goat. However, simple emotions of love wouldn't be enough to keep Els safe. Since Legosi had gone to his appointment with Gouhin, Alex decided that on the way back from the manor, he and Bill would pick up Legosi as well as formally introduce the panda to Bill and explain the tiger's predicament.

They finally arrived at the Shishigumi manor, and Alex knocked at the door. Agata was the one who opened the door, smiling at the wolf who had brought him and his boyfriend Lem together. "Alex, great to see you again! I honestly thought you weren't going to come back today. Who's your feline friend?" Agata greeted.

Bill blushed nervously as Agata gave him a friendly look. "I'm Bill.," The tiger shyly said. He was a bit on edge since he knew the Shishigumi were a gang of lions, and a few groups of lions held contempt for tigers.

"Aww, don't be so nervous! Any friend of Alex's is a friend of ours! Well, as long as they aren't cops. Come on in!" Agata chuckled.

Alex and Bill came in, the tiger was impressed by how fancy and regal the mansion was. "Would love to stay and chat but Bill has some business with Louis," Alex told Agata.

"Okay, talk to you later!" Agata cheerfully replied. Bill and Alex walked up the stairs and saw Ibuki standing outside of Louis's room.

"Alex, who's your accomplice?" Ibuki inquired.

"This is Bill, a fellow member of the drama club at Cherryton Academy. Aside from me and you lions, he's the only other animal I know who has knowledge of Louis's upbringing within the black market," Alex explained.

"I assume you brought him here to try and convince him to leave this life of crime behind?" Ibuki guessed. Alex nodded in response. Ibuki sighed, his shoulders slumping and his chest deflating.

"All right then. I want him to stay as the boss, but this really isn't a good place for him. You can try to convince him, but I should warn you, that deer's really stubborn," Ibuki told Bill. The tiger nodded before heading inside Louis's room. Alex watched Bill go inside the room, not following him. He thought that Bill's chances of convincing Louis were at their best if the striped feline was by himself.

Louis finished the last of his salad, and jumped up, startled by Bill entering the room. Instinctively, the deer threw his empty salad container at Bill, the tiger ducking down and narrowly avoiding getting hit by the flying plastic. "Nice throw," Bill chuckled. Louis's emotions died down and he returned to his usual cool and composed self.

"Well well well, if it isn't my old friend Bill. What brings you here to the black market? Here to buy your meat and enjoy the pleasures of being a predator?" Louis drawled.

"No, Louis. I'm here because we need you back at the school," Bill responded.

Louis snorted. "You, a predator, need me, the prey who's next in line to become Beastar, back at the school? Doubtful," Louis sneered.

Bill frowned. "It's true! It might not look bad now, but give it a few months time and the school will be coming apart at the seams. Ever since you stopped showing up to school, more and more fights have broken out between the carnivores and herbivores," Bill stated.

"I'm sure you'll find a way to bring the conflict to an end. Sing a song or something," Louis apathetically responded, yawning in boredom and disinterest at the tiger's predicament.

"Dude, come on! We miss you. The whole drama club misses you! Even I miss you!" Bill cried out in anger.

Louis was shocked. "YOU miss me?" Louis gasped.

Bill hesitated before responding. "I-I do! You made me strive to become better! I've never wanted to follow a prey's example before you, Louis," Bill told him.

"Well, that's very touching Bill. But this is the life I've chosen to follow," Louis replied. Bill thought about that. He sighed as he realized that no matter how hard he tried, he wouldn't be able to convince Louis to return home. The red deer was too dead set in his conviction to be the boss of the Shishigumi.

"You're right, Louis. I can't force you to come back with us. And if you want to be the boss of the Shishigumi, make the black market a safer place for carnivores, then go ahead. I won't try to stop you. There's one last thing that I want to do with you, though," Bill said.

"Oh? And what might that be?" Louis asked curiously.

Bill reached into his shirt pocket and brought out the documents he had found at the livestock holding facility. Louis's eyes widened as he saw the faces of the animals that he had been imprisoned with. "How did you find these?" Louis asked.

"I found the place that had kept you captive when you were a cub… that's how I discovered you came from the black market in the first place," Bill explained.

Louis examined and took photos of the documents, texting the pictures to Alex. They might prove useful. He stood up and shook paws with Bill. The tiger sniffled and embraced the deer, hugging him tightly, but not tight enough to make it hard for the herbivore to breathe. "My, my, Bill! I didn't know you were such a big softie!" Louis teased. Bill broke off the hug and released his grip on Louis.

"Stay safe, Louis," Bill told him. Louis nodded his head, and Bill left the room.

Alex saw the dejected look on Louis's face and instantly knew that the tiger had been unsuccessful in convincing Louis. "Damn it, it didn't work!" Alex groaned. Bill had been his last hope to persuade that delirious deer to give up being the Shishigumi's leader.

"Sorry Alex," Bill apologized.

Alex sighed. "Well, come on Bill. We have one last thing to do in the black market before we head back to Cherryton," Alex said. He told Ibuki and Agata goodbye before leaving the Shishigumi manor, heading towards Gouhin's clinic. There, they'd meet back up with Legosi and also introduce Bill to the panda.

Next chapter, we take a break from Alex, Bill, and Legosi's side of the story to check in on Haru! You guys will love what'll happen to her in the next chapter, so stay tuned for more of BEASTARS: Converging Destinies!

Chapter 35: What's Happening With Haru?

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While Alex, Bill, and Legosi were attending to matters in the black market, Haru was sitting down at Judy's residence. Apparently the bunny cop had some family that lived in Cherryton and she was staying with them. They were out at the moment though. She finished drinking the tea Judy had made for her and downed her glass of ice water, clearing her throat.

"You promised me that you'd help me learn to never be afraid of predators ever again, Judy. So let's start," Haru said.

Judy nodded. "Of course! Come with me to the exercise room," Judy told her friend. The two bunnies walked to the back room. Inside, there was a weight lifting station, a punching bag, and other equipment.

"How's this going to help with me getting over my instincts?" Haru wondered.

"I'm going to train you to be able to fight, Haru. I'll teach you to fight as only a bunny can," Judy explained. Haru was intrigued.

"As only a bunny can?" Haru wondered, curious to know what the officer meant by that.

"Exactly! As bunnies, predators underestimate us. When I first joined the force, no one believed that I was capable of being a cop, not even my family! Well, except for Alex. But having your opponent underestimate you is a really good thing! And there are perks to being short like this," Judy replied.

Haru scoffed. "Are you kidding me?! What could possibly be good about being short?!" Haru complained. A devious smile appeared on the gray rabbit's face.

"Well, three foot three inches to three foot six inches is the waist height for a lot of carnivores. And what do carnivores have near their waist area?" Judy reminded Haru.

The student gasped as she put two and two together. "It's the perfect height for grabbing their dicks!" Haru exclaimed. Judy's eyes widened, and she chuckled nervously.

"Well, I was going to say that it was the perfect height to grab their tail," Judy replied. Haru nodded for Judy to keep going.

"There's other ways for us bunnies to get around our shortness. It's all in the legs, you see," Judy continued. To emphasize her point, the heroine bent her legs down and sprung up, her ears touching the ceiling. Judy then ran up to the wall, started to walk off of it, then jumped off of the wall and did a front flip in midair. She pulled her left leg back and extended her right, getting into a high jump kick position while still airborne.

"Hi-yaaah!" Judy cried out as her leg slammed into the sandbag, rolling as she hit the ground and quickly got back up on her feet. Haru's eyes were extremely wide, and the white dwarf rabbit's jaw was agape in amazement and awe. She began to clap excitedly for her mentor, extremely impressed by the maneuver that her mentor just pulled off.

"That… was… FANTASTIC! There's no way I could ever pull off something like that!" Haru cheered. Judy blushed before giving Haru a smile and a thumbs up.

"I bet you could do that same move, Haru! It just takes practice, strength, and speed," Judy assured her protege.

Haru took that into consideration. Now, for the first time ever, she had an idea of what her future could be. And Judy believed in her. Haru couldn't remember the last time she had a rabbit as a friend. She decided that she would truly follow in Judy's footsteps and become a female badass just like her.

"Where do I start?" Haru asked. Judy smiled. They would have a lot of work ahead of them, but it would pay off in the end.

A few weeks later, Legosi tries to make progress on the investigation, but it backfires severely on the poor grey wolf as he ends up in the fight of his life! Alex receives an ominous warning from the specter of Tem and races to reach Legosi in time! The climax of the first half of the Who Killed Tem arc begins next time on BEASTARS: Converging Destinies!

Chapter 36:  Tem's Warning! Legosi In Mortal Peril!

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Four weeks later, on a Friday afternoon, Alex and Legosi were sitting around inside the drama club. Not much progress had been made on the investigation. Well, not entirely. Bill had managed to back up Aoba's alibi about where he was on the night that Tem was killed.

Alex hadn't really suspected Aoba as the killer anyways; the pelvis and other bone fragments that had been found clogging up the bathroom the day after the murder suggested that a piece of Tem's crotch had been bitten off, with bite marks. Beaks could not give bite marks.

Alex was jolted out of his thoughts by the sound of Legosi muttering the word "meat". Every single carnivore in the room turned their head to look at Legosi. "What did you just say?!" Bill asked. Legosi's eyes narrowed as he locked eyes with the carnivores around him.

"You know, I often think about the fact that Tem's dead. And I know for a fact he talked with some of the carnivores in this club," Legosi remarked.

Alex's eyes widened. What the hell was Legosi doing?! "The hell is wrong with you, Legosi?!" Alex gasped. He tried to send the wolf a silent message, that this wasn't the time or place to do this.

"YOU GO BRING THAT UP AND NOW YOU'RE SUSPECTING THAT ONE OF US DID IT?!" Bill snarled. Legosi was uneasy, he didn't expect to get this strong of a reaction from the others. The situation was quickly defused by Pina, who came into the dressing room and riled everyone up with his asshole attitude. Alex really disliked animals like Pina. They were the ones who would be the most likely to get killed over something stupid they said.

The speech that Pina made as he was officially inducted as a member into the drama club didn't help the carnivores either. In fact, it only seemed to agitate them even further. The carnivores quickly assembled on the roof of the drama club building and vented their aggression and anger towards the dickheaded Dall sheep.

After Bill was done screaming his frustrations out at the night sky, he turned and looked at Legosi curiously. "Why are you here at this carnivore gathering, anyways, Legosi? You never attend these anyways," Bill asked. Alex was a normal attendee of these meetings, though he found them rather boring. These meetings were usually about boring school stuff and crushes. Yet he couldn't help but feel a vibe in the air that was similar to the black market.

Alex couldn't help but groan as Legosi proceeded to make a fool of himself by trying to read some of the shit from one of Gouhin's books. After Bill and the others asked Legosi if he had really fucked Haru and Legosi told them no, Alex heard the wolf sneeze and sniffle, and realized that Legosi had a cold.

Alex pulled Legosi aside and dragged him through the gardens of the school. The gray wolf was planning on meeting up with Haru after the meeting. "WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING, LEGOSI!?" Alex growled. His tone was cold as ice, and his eyes were blazing with anger.

"U-uh, what did I do?!" Legosi wondered. He had no idea what had pissed Alex off.

"You ask all of these discrete questions, in front of the whole fucking drama club, and you expect to get away scot free? If you were an actual cop your cover would have been fucking blown and you could have been killed. The murderer might try to come after you now!" Alex explained. Legosi gulped. He hadn't thought of the risk he might be placing himself in. The gray wolf had been so focused on trying to make progress in the investigation that he hadn't thought things through completely.

"And you decide to ask all of these questions when YOU HAVE A FUCKING COLD! This is literally the perfect opportunity to get yourself killed! How will you be able to sense the killer coming after you if your nose is stuffed up with mucus!" Alex scolded.

He shoved Legosi, before whirling around and beginning to storm off. "Try something that stupid again and I WILL punch your lights out," Alex threatened Legosi before he started heading back to room 701.

When Alex got to the canine dorms, he flopped into bed and fell fast asleep rather quickly. Getting angry at Legosi had taken a lot out of him. He managed to get a couple of hours of sleep.

While Alex was asleep, Legosi was in trouble. On his way back to the dorm, he had been ambushed by a large predator who he assumed was the killer. Now his attacker was dragging him across the courtyard. With a jolt, Legosi realized that this animal had deliberately planned this attack, as his cold would prevent him from being able to properly identify the killer.

Legosi howled in pain as the killer slammed his head into the wall. He felt his blood trickling down his face. Legosi was hurt pretty badly. In that instant Legosi knew what he had to do. He feigned being unconscious so that the killer would lean in close to him. When he felt the warm breath of his subduer, he struck. The wolf's head whipped forward, and he locked mouths with the killer. Using his tongue, Legosi was able to get a taste of his enemy's saliva.

The killer was shocked and disgusted. How DARE Legosi kiss him like that?! He hadn't had a kiss on the mouth since the night Tem died. The sensation of his lips being embraced was something that he had only shared with Tem. He had been in love with the alpaca. And they had consummated their relationship when Tem had let the killer eat him alive.

The killer decided to give Legosi the beatdown of a lifetime. He pummeled the wolf's chest and stomach, driving his large fists into them. He grinned triumphantly as he heard the sound of bones cracking. When he was satisfied with the amount of suffering he had inflicted upon the unfortunate, nosy gray wolf, he left the wolf to stew in that puddle of blood.

When the killer left Legosi's range of vision, he reached into his pocket and brought out his phone, dialing Jack's number. The gray wolf began praying for his best friend to pick up. He definitely wasn't going to be able to move on his own anytime soon, and he could feel his strength fading away. It was quickly becoming a struggle for Legosi to even stay conscious.

Alex woke up as he saw a bright light in his room. He narrowed his eyes as he realized it couldn't be coming from the sun. The light was much too blue to be sunlight, and it was the middle of the night as well. The white wolf gasped as he saw a glowing silhouette standing at his bedside. Snarling, Alex lunged for his bedside drawer, opening it and pulling his cross out before brandishing it at the silhouette, believing it to be a dark entity.

In response, the silhouette's figure seemed to solidify, and it took on the shape of an alpaca. "You don't seem to be a demon… in that case, you must be a spirit. Are you Tem?" Alex mused to himself. "No… time! Legosi… danger!" The spectral alpaca breathed. Alex's eyes widened as he leapt to his feet.

His phone's alarm started to go off. That couldn't be good. The blaring red siren ringtone meant that one of the animals who wore the biometric watches were in critical condition. Alex knew that it had to be coming from Legosi's watch. He turned to the apparition, realizing it must be Tem. The alpaca must have come to him so he would be able to prevent another animal from falling victim to the killer.

"Take me to him!" Alex ordered the spirit. Tem nodded as he flew off, turning into a ball of light that zoomed down the hallways. Alex burst through the doors of the canine dorm and chased after the spirit. He followed Tem's ghost to the courtyard area, where Legosi had gone to meet up with Haru. He saw Jack kneeling and taking off his shirt, and as he got closer, he was horrified at what he saw.

He saw Legosi lying unconscious on the ground, a puddle of blood surrounding the gray wolf's unmoving form. Examining the wolf, he saw that half of Legosi's face was covered in blood, and there were three large gashes on the wolf's back. Listening closely, he could hear that Legosi's breathing was more of a wheeze, meaning that he was having trouble breathing.

"A-Alex! Thank heavens you're here! Legosi called me and he sounded badly hurt, so I got over here as fast as I could. I'm not strong enough to lift him though… I called emergency services, they're on their way here right now," Jack said worriedly. The labrador put his shirt up to Legosi's back, applying pressure to the wolf's slashes.

The wolf pulled out his phone and began to take pictures of Legosi's wounds. The yellow dog was bewildered by Alex's behavior. "Why are you taking pictures of him at a time like this?!" Jack wondered.

"For analysis later," Alex quickly answered. The paramedics arrived on the scene and rushed Legosi to the ambulance.

As they rode in the ambulance to the hospital, Alex began to break down, shedding his cool and composed exterior. The wolf sobbed as the overwhelming guilt wracked his brain and burned him up inside. This was all his fault. If he had stuck with Legosi after the predator meeting when he went to meet Haru, the gray wolf wouldn't have been ambushed.

As Alex wept, Jack put an arm around the cop's shoulder as he cried his heart out. At this point, Jack knew that it was out of their hands to decide if Legosi would make it or not. All they could do was to pray that Legosi would be all right.

Although his vital signs are back to normal and all of his injuries are healed, Legosi still hasn't woken up yet. The doctors are concerned that Legosi will suffer serious brain damage if the wolf doesn't awaken from his comatose state soon. Alex blames himself for the wolf's condition. Legosi's friends gather together in an effort to revive the wolf...! Will they be successful? Find out on the next chapter of BEASTARS: Converging Destinies!

Chapter 37: Legosi's In A Coma! Trying To Wake Him Up!

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It was the next morning. Alex had been at the hospital all night, begging and praying for his friend to wake up. Legosi had been in pretty bad shape when the ambulance had arrived at the hospital, needing a lot of blood. When the white wolf and Jack were asked about what species of wolf Legosi was, Jack immediately replied. “Gray wolf blood will do," The labrador told the paramedic. This was a little strange to Alex. Why would Jack tell them to give him gray wolf blood specifically? Most wolf species could receive blood transfusions from each other, Legosi should be able to receive Alex’s blood. 

The wolf had stayed up all night waiting for news about Legosi’s condition. Jack had passed out and was snoozing in one of the hospital chairs outside of Legosi’s room. Alex, however, was too guilt-ridden and stressed out to fall asleep. The doctors patched up the gray wolf’s wounds and gave him blood transfusions, even managing to stabilize his condition. But Legosi still hadn’t woken up. 

Alex knew he couldn’t keep the attack on Legosi a secret. His current predicament reminded him far too much of the Leodore Lionheart administration and the Night Howler incident. The mayor’s son, Kimba, had been very much against keeping the savage animals a secret from the city, while the mayor feared that it would ruin his career and chances for re-election if he told the public the truth. 

Of course, when Alex, Judy, and Nick had broken into the abandoned asylum that was holding the animals, and exposed it to the public, it backfired on the mayor. But Alex knew that Leodore Lionheart had the interests of the people in mind when he made his decision to cover things up. Fear and panic spread through the prey population of Zootopia like wildfire, especially after Judy’s speech where she mistakenly assumed the cause of the animals turning savage was because they were reverting back to their savage instincts. 

When Judy told that to the press, Alex had felt deeply betrayed by Judy. He had a crush on the gray bunny, and he had opened himself up to her. That was something he hadn’t done for any of his fellow cops since Lem. To say that he was upset would be an understatement. In the days following that disastrous press conference, Alex wouldn’t even look at Judy, instead throwing himself into his patrols. 

Alex reached his breaking point when one day, a small young rabbit had gotten stuck up in a tree and he was called to help get her down. He had held out his arms for the kit to jump into. “I’ll catch you!" The cop had promised. But as he got closer to the kit, he saw the fear in her eyes. The wolf realized that the youngling was afraid of him, simply because he was a predator. 

He took a few steps closer, but this only frightened the bunny further, driving her further and further up the tree. The kid tried to stand at the very top of the tree, but lost her balance and fell to the ground. Alex had tried to catch her, but while she was falling, the bunny kicked him in the snout and caused him to stumble backwards. The child ended up having both of her legs broken, and when the mother came over to take her child to the hospital, she looked at Alex as if he was a monster. He suffered a blast full of wolf deterrent, and this was his last straw.

The very next day, when everyone was getting their assignments, Alex had lashed out at Judy, blaming her for the worsening state of Zootopia. “Congratulations, Officer Hopps. You not only took away the one thing that I enjoyed in life, helping people… you also destroyed Zootopia," Alex had snarled, before tossing his badge and ZPD vest at the bunny and storming off to his house, falling into a deep depression. He only returned to his normal self after Judy returned to Zootopia and got him out of his rut, telling the wolf that the city needed both of them to work together in order to fix things.  

But enough about that. Besides, chaos and panic wasn’t always bad. Panic could cause Legosi’s assaulter to make a mistake and slip up, inadvertently revealing himself as the culprit. These thoughts were at the forefront of Alex’s mind as he walked to the podium after Principal Gon had assembled the entire school in the auditorium. A local news reporter had also been sent to the scene, having been called by Principal Gon to cover the story in order to raise public awareness of the situation. “What are we doing here?" One of the students in the audience asked. 

Alex took a deep breath to compose himself and collect his thoughts. Then, the wolf spoke up. “Fellow creatures of Cherryton Academy! Principal Gon and I have gathered you today to tell you of a horrible event that happened on the premises last night," Alex announced.

This caused some tense, nervous murmuring among the students. “Another predation incident?" One of them wondered. 

“Last night, one of our students was attacked and brutally assaulted in the courtyard. His name was Legosi," Alex told the crowd. Everyone gasped when they heard the news. “How badly was he hurt?!?!" Collot demanded. The sheepdog was one of Legosi and Alex’s dorm members. “Alive, for now. He is extremely lucky. If Jack and I hadn’t found that gray wolf he would have died from his injuries. However, he’s fallen into a coma, and he hasn’t yet woken up," Alex answered. 

The entire crowd fell silent. Legosi was one of the largest and strongest animals in the entire school, and apparently whoever did this to him was able to put him in a coma! Alex mentally grinned as he saw not only the herbivores afraid, but also a large majority of the predator student body. “The police have made me a correspondent to their investigation, which will begin once Legosi wakes up from his coma and is able to give his perspective on what happened," Alex continued. 

“Do you have any suspects? Or any leads for the investigation?" a female voice inquired. Alex scanned through the crowd for the source of the voice, and was surprised to see that Haru was the one who asked the question. Alex let out a melodramatic sigh, adding to his little performance.

“Even if the police did have any leads or suspects, I’m not at liberty to disclose such information," Alex replied. 

“Wait! Whoever did this has to be in the drama club. And they had to have been---" Bill started suggesting. Alex’s cool and composed mask morphed into one of fury and urgency.

“Bill, shut your maw and leave this to the professionals," Alex snarled. Bill gulped and nodded, realizing that his big mouth might end up endangering the investigation. 

Haru ran up to the front of the crowd. “Where is Legosi being treated? I have to see him!" Haru insisted. The bunny was extremely worried about her friend.

“That information is classified. I’m not allowed to give it out, what if the attacker learned this information and tried to finish the job?" Alex answered. Haru’s head sank, and she dejectedly nodded. Alex walked off stage, before pulling out his phone and writing a new group message. 

“Everyone, meet me in the school parking lot. Legosi needs all of us now," Alex texted, sending it to Collot, Voss, Miguno, Durham, Haru, Bill, and Els. He had already informed Judy about the situation and she was en route to the hospital he was being treated at already. The students that Alex had texted quickly showed up at the front entrance of the school. A long, black limousine pulled up to the sidewalk. Alex opened the shotgun door, and took a seat in the shotgun spot. 

“Get in," Alex ordered the band of students. Agata beamed at all of the students as they got in, which made Els and Haru a little uneasy. The white dwarf rabbit recognized Agata as the lion who had tried to help her escape from the Shishigumi.

“Good morning, this is the Shishigumi Express. We’ll be taking you to Cherryton Colorful Futures Hospital, the most expensive and reliable hospital in the entire city, owned by the Iris Corporation," Agata announced, pretending to be an airplane pilot.  

Soon enough they arrived at the hospital. Alex and his friends got out of the car. “Let’s go. Legosi needs us!" Haru cried out, before charging towards the entrance to the hospital. Alex guided them to the room that Legosi was resting in. Jack and Sheila were talking with each other, worried expressions on their faces. Judy was sitting in a chair off to the side, sitting with her head in her paws and silently sobbing. 

“Sheila? What are you doing here?" Alex asked. He knew the cheetah was someone he could trust, but the fact that she had gotten here before the rest of them was a little concerning.

“Jack called me this morning while I was on my morning jog, begging me to come to the hospital as fast as possible. I knew that something really bad must have happened if he was telling me to ditch school. So I put my speed to good use and got here quickly. Jack told me about what happened to Legosi… I didn’t know the gray wolf well , but we were in the drama club together, and I know that he’s Jack’s best friend," Sheila explained.

The white wolf nodded in understanding before going to see Legosi. Haru, Bill, Els, Collot, Durham, Miguno, Voss, Judy, and Alex then walked into the room. “Legosi… I brought all of your friends here. They’re all very worried about you. You gotta wake up and tell them you’re okay," Alex pleaded with the lifeless gray wolf. There was no movement or sign that Legosi heard Alex.

The wolf sighed, before grasping Legosi’s paw with his own. “Goddammit, Legosi, why did you have to go and ask those stupid questions? And why did I have to leave you behind? If I hadn’t, you wouldn’t have been attacked!" Alex sobbed. Tears began to stream down his face, feeling like he was the worst animal in the world for letting this happen to Legosi. 

Haru was next, climbing onto the hospital bed and sitting on the wolf’s chest. She was light enough to not impede the wolf’s breathing. “Come on, Legosi, you gotta come back. How am I supposed to be your girlfriend if you’re in a coma?" Haru asked. She sniffled, a tear rolling down her face and onto Legosi. She planted a kiss on the wolf’s nose and wrapped her arms around him tightly, deeply upset about the wolf’s condition. 

Durham, Miguno, Collot, and Voss took Legosi’s other paw in theirs. “Come on, man, wake up already! We still have so much fun to do together, so many more balls to chase," Collot begged.

“Yeah, you still owe me a few piggyback rides, Legosi!" Voss cried, punghing the wolf’s arm and headbutting it for additional measure.

“Legosi, Miguno and I are dating… I want to see you react to that… it’s because of you and your relationship with Haru that I even came out as gay and asked Miguno out! You inspired me man, and I can’t thank you unless you’re conscious!" Durham wept. 

Sheila came in and put a paw on Legosi’s shoulder. “Legosi, it’s me, Sheila from the drama club’s dance crew. I know we weren’t good friends or anything, but I’ve started to date Jack… and I know for a fact that you’re really important to him. He’s beside himself with worry, and I want to get to know you better too, Legosi. You clearly have had a big impact on the labrador’s life, and I want to hear about all the funny stories you have about Jack when he was young. Come on Legosi, come back to us," Sheila told the large gray wolf. Legosi still did not move.

“Legosi…" Judy whimpered sadly.

They sat there for hours, talking to Legosi and spending time with him, attempting to get any signs of movement or life from the wolf. Nothing, however, seemed to work. “Maybe we need more animals that are important to him…?" Alex wondered.

Judy nodded yes, hope returning to her. “Yes, yes, YES! That’s a brilliant idea! Does Legosi have any living relatives that he’s close with?" Judy asked. 

Jack hesitated for a minute before responding. “Y-yeah, his grandpa… I can go and get him tomorrow morning and have him come to the hospital," Jack revealed.

Alex stood up and turned to Jack. “Give me his address," Alex ordered. Jack’s ears drooped, and he seemed rather nervous.

“C-can’t I be the one to bring him here?" Jack stammered.

“NO!" Alex snarled, anger in his eyes. Jack shrank back.

“Alex!" Judy scolded, surprised to see the wolf reacting like this.

“This is all my fault! I’M the reason Legosi is like this! That means I have to be the one to tell his family!" Alex roared at the labrador. The wolf realized he had yelled at Jack, and apologized. Jack whimpered, before writing down Legosi’s grandfather’s address and hugging Sheila for comfort. 

Suddenly, Haru got up from her spot where she was snuggling with Legosi and walked up to the wolf, stepping on Legosi’s legs so she could reach Alex. She tapped the white wolf on the shoulder and he whirled around, glaring at her. “Yes?!" Alex growled. In response, Haru decked the cop across the face, delivering a blunt blow to the right side of Alex’s jaw. “The hell?!!" Alex gasped, staring at the white dwarf rabbit with astonishment and disbelief.

“You’re not the only reason that Legosi is like this! Louis is also at fault!" Haru yelled at her friend.

“Louis-senpai?! How is he to blame for this?" Bill wondered.

“Bill, I’m pretty sure you were onto something when you said that Legosi’s attacker had to have been from the drama club. Maybe part of the reason that Legosi got hurt like this is because the monster that did this to him got more bold after Louis ditched school," Haru explained. 

“You don’t know that!" Alex argued. Haru glared at him, and Alex was amazed at her iron gaze of steel that she met his eyes with. Judy must have been doing an excellent job on training Haru.

“I don’t, but YOU don’t know that it’s not true either!" Haru countered. Alex gritted his teeth together before storming off. 

Haru knew she had to take action. She had heard the rumors that there was now a deer leading the Shishigumi gang, and she knew in her gut that it couldn’t be anyone other than Louis. She had Judy drive her back to her house so she could grab her stuff. Haru raced up the stairs and thrusted open the doors to her closet, pulling out a black latex suit that she had ordered from the internet to indulge in her fantasies. She had found that the latex suit was extremely durable and could take a lot of abuse in her time using it at the gardening club. 

Accompanying the latex suit was a long, slender black whip. Haru held it in her paws, before swinging it around. A satisfying crack was heard as she waved the whip around. She had found it to be excellent at restraining large carnivores at that one halloween party that she had gone dressed up as a vigilante to. 

She was brought out of her reminiscing by her phone beeping. Looking down, Haru saw that it was a text from Juno. The rabbit had asked Juno to try and persuade Louis to come back to Cherryton over a nice dinner, but the wolf girl had been so flustered by Louis that she had forgot to mention Legosi’s condition and how they believed that they needed Louis to help bring Legosi out of the coma. “Sorry that I couldn’t make Louis-senpai budge, he’s quite stubborn~!" Juno’s message read. Haru sighed, before slipping out the window and sprinting towards the black market. It didn’t take long for her to arrive at the entrance to the dark alleyway. 

“This is it…!" Haru thought to herself. These past few weeks, no… Everything that had happened to her since meeting Legosi on that night where he had come into contact with a Night Howler and imprinted on her. All of that had been leading up to this point in her life. She was going to go in that hellhole and she wasn’t coming back without her deer by her side. Haru took a deep breath before letting out a war cry and charging into the dark side of Cherryton.

While Alex goes to meet Legosi's grandfather, Haru risks her life as she storms the Shishigumi mansion and fights off the lions in an attempt to reach Louis! An astonishing secret is revealed about Legosi's family!  Keep an eye out for the next exciting chapter of BEASTARS: Converging Destinies!

Chapter 38: Haru VS The Shishigumi! Legosi’s Heritage Revealed!!!

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Haru sprinted through the black market, remembering the path she and Legosi had taken while escaping from the Shishigumi mansion. It had been only a month and a half since she had been abducted by the lion gang. Never in her wildest dreams had she ever thought she'd go back to that mansion of her own free will, but yet here she was, standing at the entrance to the household where she had nearly been devoured.

Haru reached into her pockets and pulled out the capsules that Judy had given her. These capsules contained highly pressurized gas, and they were to be thrown at predators in order to incapacitate them. Upon hitting something, the capsules would explode into a noxious green gas with the stench of several skunks spraying one target together in unison.

When the white dwarf rabbit had asked Judy about how she had gotten these, Judy replied that the ZPD's non lethal weapons department had been given a huge boost with experimentation ever since Alex and his adoptive sister Blossom had joined the squad, with Alex's mother Iris Stenchington providing additional funding for the squad.

Haru jumped up and rang the doorbell. A few seconds later, one of the Shishigumi lions opened the door and Haru took the opportunity to strike. The bunny lunged forward and delivered a powerful punch to the feline's crotch. This sent the lion stumbling backwards, and Haru sprung upwards, leaping into the air and kicking the lion in the chest with both of her legs, forcing this lion to the ground. Haru followed up on her kicks by pouncing on the fallen lion's chest and grabbed his neck with both of her tiny paws, pressing down with all of her strength to keep the lion from breathing. After about a minute of the chokehold the lion fell unconscious.

That was one lion down. Haru then retrieved her whip, which she had discarded to choke the first lion into unconsciousness. The white dwarf rabbit then listened closely, pressing her rabbit ears up to the wall so she could get the maximum use out of them. She heard the sounds of several lions talking throughout the house. She heard one lion with his back to her in the hallway up ahead, three lions in the dining room, two at the top of the staircase, and three lions upstairs on the second floor.

"Perfect!" Haru thought to herself. They were already all split up. The bunny knew that she'd be screwed if she had to fight all of the lions at the same time. With the training she had been going through, though, she knew she had good odds at beating one to three lions in a fight. She crept through the hallways, quickly reaching the lion that she had heard in the hallway. She saw that it was Agata, the black Congo lion who had tried to help her escape from the manor when the other lions had kidnapped her and brought her there.

Haru wished she didn't have to do this to the sweet lion, but she couldn't take any chances of him somehow alerting the other lions of her presence. Haru swung her whip, the long rope flying forward and slamming into the back of Agata's head and upper neck. The poor black lion was helpless, crumpling to the floor under the heavy whip blow.

Haru stealthily snuck forward through the corridors of the mansion. She quickly came up on the dining room and jumped back, hugging the walls before using her hearing to get a read on the situation. There were still three lions in there, and they hadn't noticed her yet. Haru pulled out the gas capsule and flung it into the room. The gas bomb detonated on contact, blinding the felines and filling their nostrils with gas. The three lions stood up and huddled together back to back, their vision still recovering from the gas bomb. Haru jumped onto the table before launching herself at the lions, curling up into a ball in midair and slamming into his chest area. The lion was pushed back, making him stagger and topple over onto the other two lions.

Now that they were in a nice pile, Haru needed to make sure that these lions stayed down for the count. She grabbed a metal cookie sheet from the counter and bonked the head of the lion who was on top of the others. Hopefully that would keep them down long enough for Haru to grab Louis and get out of there.

One of the lions yelled out "INTRUDER!" and Haru's ears drooped. Two lions sprinted down the stairs and started advancing on Haru. The bunny reacted quickly, her whip coiling outwards and wrapping around the lion on the left. With a bit of effort, she was able to toss the lion on the left into the lion on the right, making them fall over like bowling pins. Then a third lion entered the room, and Haru recognized him. It was the lion who had kidnapped her in the first place. She saw him grab his gun from his pocket and pointed at her. While Ibuki was going for his gun, Haru jumped up and punched him in the face with all her might. The sheer force Haru packed into her blow caused Ibuki to drop his gun, and Haru dove for it. She managed to snatch it away from Ibuki and grab it for herself.

Now to do something that Judy probably wouldn't approve of. She jabbed the gun into Ibuki's forehead, the muzzle of the weapon pressing against his skull. The glasses-wearing lion's eyes widened in fear and horror. "Now, where's your boss?" Haru sweetly said.

Ibuki knew that he was at the bunny's complete and utter mercy. "U-upstairs…" Ibuki whimpered.

"Take me to him," Haru then demanded. Ibuki gulped.

"I-I can't…" Ibuki croaked in terror. The bunny slapped Ibuki's face in response.

"Bullshit!" Haru snarled.

"No! I mean I can't! Louis-sama is in the bathtub right now!" Ibuki cried out. Haru listened closer, and she was now able to hear Louis humming to himself.

"I-It's true! Boss really is in the bath!" One of the lions that was on the floor quickly agreed. Haru eyed him suspiciously, before standing up off of him and moving the gun to his crotch area.

"Nobody make any sudden moves or I blow his balls off!" Haru yelled.

"DOLPH! FREE!" Ibuki screamed. The two lions appeared in an instant and went for their guns, but lowered them when they saw that she had Ibuki at gunpoint. "You two, go into the kitchen and fix her the finest fruits and vegetables we have! Until Boss comes out of the shower she's the new queen!" Ibuki ordered. Haru smiled deviously.

"New queen? I like the sound of that," The white dwarf rabbit darkly chuckled.

Alex was standing at the door to Legosi's grandfather's house, hesitating to knock on it. He had been rehearsing what he would say for the past half hour, and he was still nervous and upset. He hated this sort of situation, where he had to tell someone that their loved ones had gotten severely injured or killed. He had to perform this duty a few times when he was in the Zootopia Police Department. It tore him up inside as the loved ones cried in anguish as they realized the wolf wasn't there for cookies or to ask questions, but to tell a horrible truth.

Alex inhaled and exhaled before knocking on the door. The door opened within a matter of seconds, and Alex came face to face with a Komodo dragon. He had only met one in his life before, and that was when he was a kid. "Ah, an officer! You must be here about the incident at the hybrid orphanage. Come in, I insist! I'll fix you a glass of lemonade," The reptile happily told him. He somewhat dragged Alex in and sat him down in a lovely, comfortable chair. "I'll be right back with the lemonade!" He promised.

Alex sat in the chair, not expecting this. He then saw a framed photograph on the table and picked it up to take a closer look. The contents of the photograph shocked him. In the photograph, the Komodo dragon had his arms wrapped around a female wolf and a young wolf pup. The wolf woman was beautiful, unlike any other creature Alex had seen. One of her most astonishing features was her arms and shoulders- she had patches of green scales on her arms and shoulders. And the wolf pup was obviously Legosi. That meant that this female wolf had to be his mother, and the Komodo dragon was Legosi's grandfather.

Alex was shocked that Legosi was a hybrid. Aside from his scent and unusually large size, there were no indications of Legosi being a hybrid. He started crying, realizing the pain that Legosi must have had to suffer over not being able to tell the world who he truly was. Gosha came back into the room and saw the wolf was crying. "Officer, what's wrong?" Gosha asked worriedly.

"I-I'm not here to ask questions, sir… You are the grandfather of Legosi, correct?" Alex then said, tears in his eyes.

"Why, yes I am. Why do you ask?" Gosha wondered.

"I'm here because your grandson is in the hospital," Alex gravely told him.

"The hospital?!" Gosha gasped, his eyes widening. Alex nodded somberly. "What happened!? Is my grandson all right!?" Gosha panickedly said.

Alex inhaled shakily, his voice trembling. "He's alive… but he's in pretty rough shape. He got viciously attacked by an unknown assailant. I came here to inform you of his condition and bring you to the hospital," Alex answered. Gosha stood up and set his lemonade down, pouring it into a large thermos and grabbing several plastic cups, before heading outside to Alex's car. Alex opened the shotgun seat for the komodo dragon before starting to drive there.

"This is all my fault…!" Alex sobbed. Gosha put a scaly hand on Alex's shoulder to calm the white wolf down.

"Tell me everything," Gosha pleaded. And so Alex began to tell Gosha everything that had happened since he had arrived at Cherryton.

As Alex and Gosha drove to the hospital, Haru played with the cherries in her mouth that the Shishigumi had served her. "You know you could have just asked me for a favor, Haru…" Agata groaned, rubbing the back of his head and neck as they were still sore from Haru's whip strikes.

"I couldn't take any chances," Haru grimly replied. She heard the sound of footsteps coming down the stairs, and smiled as the deer's antlers came into view. Louis hummed to himself, but quickly stopped when he saw the white dwarf rabbit sitting at the dinner table. "HARU!?" Louis yelped, his jaw dropping in shock.

"There you are, mister! Do you have ANY idea how much trouble you're in!?" Haru greeted the deer. She glared at Louis and crossed her arms menacingly.

"Trouble? What trouble? I decided to live my own life," Louis quickly replied, his mask of composure returning. Haru stood on the table and grabbed him by the shirt, yanking him forward.

"You idiot! Did you not think of what might happen if you stopped showing up to school!?" Haru yelled.

Louis's eyes narrowed, staring at his ex-lover. Haru returned his steely gaze with twice as much force, and yet the red deer still did not falter. "Because you stopped showing up to school, the carnivores and herbivores are falling apart at the seams! There's fights between them on a daily basis now, and they're seriously considering segregating the school since Tem's killer is still on the loose!" Haru started screaming at Louis.

"Bill said the same thing! It's NOT MY PROBLEM!" Louis growled.

"LEGOSI'S ALMOST DEAD BECAUSE OF YOU, ASSHOLE!" Haru shrieked at her previous boyfriend, punching him in the chest to drive her point home.

Louis blinked, processing this. Then his expression turned to one of both fury and concern. "Legosi's almost dead?" Louis asked out loud. Then he gazed at Haru and grabbed her by the left paw. "What happened?!" Louis demanded angrily.

Haru tore her arm from his grip and shoved Louis. "You kept the drama club in line and made sure they didn't discuss Tem's murder. Now that you're gone, Legosi started asking questions, and this attracted the attention of the killer. He's a monster, Louis… he put Legosi in a coma, and we don't know if he'll ever wake up again!" Haru cried.

Tears welled up in her eyes and she cried into Louis's chest. After a few minutes of letting the bunny sob, Louis took her paws in his. "Where's Legosi being kept?" Louis asked.

"Cherryton Colorful Futures Hospital," Haru answered.

Louis stood up and carried Haru over his shoulder. "Agata! Ibuki! We're driving there now," Louis commanded. Ibuki and Agata leapt to their feet and gave their leader a salute. "YES SIR!" The two lions yelled.

Everyone converges together at the hospital to see Legosi. Legosi's friends learn that Legosi is a hybrid, and Louis fights Alex! An emotion-packed chapter is coming to this website soon, so stay tuned for the next chapter of BEASTARS: Converging Destinies!

Chapter 39: Reconvening At The Hospital! A Risky Ritual!

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“Tell me his condition," Gosha insisted as Alex drove through the streets of Cherryton. Alex sighed. 

“It’s looking pretty bad. He suffered a lot of head trauma, and a ton of internal injuries. I don’t understand the full extent of it, but what I do know is that if he doesn’t wake up within the next 48 hours, his brain’s going to start to deteriorate," Alex told Gosha. 

“Oh my god…how are we going to get him awake?" Gosha gasped. They arrived at the hospital and Alex parked the car. 

“My mother has performed several studies on comatose patients and there was an astonishing amount of data that suggests that loved ones and friends speed up the process. In some cases, just the arrival of a cherished friend or lover has managed to wake them up. Other cases have had the loved ones and friends spend hours on end with the coma patient, passing the time by telling stories of said patient," Alex explained. 

Gosha nodded, before he and Alex got out of the car. Alex was surprised to see the Shishigumi van pulling up to the front, and the side doors opened up. He was shocked to see both Louis and Haru step out of the van. He hung back, seeing Agata join them and they entered the hospital. Alex stood there for a few minutes.

What was Haru doing in the Shishigumi van? Perhaps Agata had gotten her and taken her to the manor to fetch Louis… but that wouldn’t explain the outfit. She was dressed like something out of a kinky movie. Then a sudden realization occurred to him. She went to the black market by herself to grab Louis! Gosha tapped him on the shoulder. Somehow, Alex hadn’t realized he had frozen. “Let’s go in, shall we?" Gosha suggested. 

Alex nodded slowly and walked through the hospital doors. They walked through the corridors of the medical facility before reaching the hall with Legosi’s room. Outside of the room, Louis, Haru, and Agata were talking with each other. The black Congo lion saw Alex coming towards them. “Hey Alex. Who’s your friend?" Agata somberly greeted. 

Louis turned to see who it was and his eyes flashed with rage. “ YOU !" Louis growled. The deer charged at Alex, his left paw clutching the wolf’s throat. Using all of his strength, Louis pushed Alex backwards and pinned him against the wall. Alex kicked and thrashed around, but none of his strikes were able to reach the deer. Curse his long arms! With his spare right paw, Louis removed one of his fake antlers from his head and pointed it at the wolf, bringing it closer and closer to Alex’s head.

 “Give me a good reason why I shouldn’t ram this antler through your eye and kill you right now! You’re the whole damn reason Legosi is half dead!" Louis screamed, pure hatred and anger in his eyes. 

Everyone else was horrified at this sudden change in Louis. Even Bill didn’t think Louis was capable of threatening to kill his friend, yet he had the antler poised like a sword, ready to plunge into Alex’s head and eviscerate his brain. “Louis, NO!!!" Bill, Els, and Sheila yelled out. 

“B-BOSS!" Agata cried out in horror. 

“You don’t want to do this!! Legosi wouldn’t want this!" Jack pleaded, stepping forwards. 

“Doing this won’t bring Legosi back!" Collot, Voss, Durham, and Miguno called out.

“Drop the weapon!!" Judy yelled and fired up her taser, aiming it at the deer’s back.  

Haru knew instantly what had happened to Louis- the red deer had finally broken. She knew that it was always possible that he might end up snapping, how he had been raised to serve as livestock and had no future before meeting Oguma, how every day he wondered if he was going to die. And becoming the boss of the Shishigumi must have taken its toll on Louis. She couldn’t imagine what nightmarish things he must have witnessed while leading the gang of lions. 

She knew she had to act before Louis did something that he would end up regretting. She ran forward and ducked between Louis’s legs before punching him in the crotch, causing him to stumble backwards, causing him to release his tight grip on Alex’s neck. The wolf panted, gasping for air. “Both of you boys need to stop playing the blame game! You’re BOTH responsible for Legosi being like this!" Haru scolded the two males. 

Louis looked down at his shoes, ashamed of himself. He nearly killed one of the only animals who truly understood him! “Shit, Alex, I’m sorry," Louis apologized. 

“No, I needed that. It felt so sickening to have no one around me blame me for this… you blaming me and reacting that way made me feel better. Though I would have preferred it if you hadn’t threatened to skewer my brains…" Alex replied. Louis cracked a soft, weak smile before fixing his antler back on his head. 

“Hey Alex, who’s your scaly friend? I thought you were going to bring Legosi’s grandfather!" Bill pointed out. 

“Actually, I am Legosi’s grandfather!" Gosha announced. Everyone turned to look at Gosha and blinked, before everything devolved into chaos. 

“YOU’RE LEGOSI’S GRANDFATHER!?!" Many of the animals gasped. Gosha nodded. 

“Yes. My name is Gosha, and Legosi is my grandson. It’s nice to see that Legosi’s made so many friends at Cherryton. Oh, and before you ask, I’m a Komodo dragon," Gosha explained. Haru, Louis, Bill, Els, Collot, Voss, Durham, Miguno, and Sheila all shook paws with the reptile. 

They all then went into Legosi’s room. Alex squeezed the gray wolf/Komodo dragon hybrid’s left paw. “Legosi, it’s me, Alex. I brought two people who I know are very special to you… your grandfather, Gosha, and your best friend Louis," Alex told the comatose wolf. 

“We’re best friends?" Louis scoffed. 

“You went into the Shishigumi manor to save Haru alongside him. Of course he would think of you as a best friend!" Alex replied. 

“Legosi, my grandson… it is good to see you again, but it pains me that you are not awake… I miss you so much, and I know that you distanced yourself from me as part of Leano’s wishes in hopes that you could live a normal life. But I want to be a part of your life again. I hope you’ll let me back in," Gosha murmured, gingerly clasping Legosi’s left paw with his reptilian, scaly hands.

Louis gazed down at Legosi, and he was suddenly, inexplicably hit with a wave of sadness and anger. Who could have done this to him?! The red deer began to think about what Haru had said: that Legosi wouldn’t have been attacked if he was still around to lead the drama club. He felt his eyes well up with tears, and this served to anger him even further. “Legosi, you dumb wolf, stop sleeping. We have work to do," Louis growled. 

Out of the corner of his eye, he could swear he saw one of Legosi’s digits twitch ever so slightly. “I know you can hear me, mutt! Wake up!" Louis snarled. 

Everyone looked at him, shocked at how the deer was treating the unconscious Legosi. “WAKE UP, LEGOSI! YOU STUPID WOLF!" Louis then screamed, and brought his fist down on Legosi, but slowed it down so it would only lightly hammer the wolf’s stomach. The tears began to flow from his eyes and stream down his face. “Please, Legosi… don’t leave me…" Louis wept, burying his head in the wolf’s fur. 

They all sat there in Legosi’s hospital room, telling stories about the wolf to pass the time. Voss, Collot, Durham, Miguno, and Jack told a story about how one time for Halloween the canines of room 701 had dressed up as the Power Rangers and gone trick-or-treating. Gosha told them adorable and cute snippets of Legosi’s childhood, Haru and Louis supplied the embarrassing stories of Legosi in high school, and they all laughed. They even got a DVD of Cherryton’s Adler production, playing the second evening’s performance which Legosi had starred in as the titular character due to Louis being injured. 

Gosha was impressed. “My word! Legosi never told me about this! I would have come to see him perform if he had told me he was going to be the star of the show!" Gosha murmured. 

“We were working against the clock that day, all of the drama club was stressed out and worried. I’m surprised that the show didn’t take a turn for the worse and come apart at the seams," Sheila commented. 

Unwilling to leave Legosi in hopes that he might wake up in the middle of the night, everyone slept in their chairs. Morning came, however, and Legosi was still unconscious. They were running out of time- if Legosi didn’t wake up out of the coma soon, his brain would start deteriorating and he would be reduced to a lifeless husk of his former self. It was time to call in a favor from an old friend, and Alex made the call during the wee hours of the morning.

5 AM Zootopia, Lionheart Manor

Leah Ashenwoole opened the door to her master’s room. She knew the mayor wouldn’t be happy but he would understand the reasoning behind her actions. “Kimba?" Leah called out, causing the white lion to stir from his slumber. He looked and saw the coal-colored sheep standing in the doorway. 

“Good morning Leah. Though it’s about a half hour earlier than I’m used to getting up… something is wrong. I can feel it. What’s your reason for waking me up?" the current mayor of Zootopia asked. 

“It’s Alex. He needs my help, and time is of the essence. A life is on the line," Leah answered her best friend. 

Dawn was still passed out- the former ex-mayor and Kimba’s girlfriend was a heavy sleeper. “Then go, Leah. I’ll keep your hours paid while you go and help our friend," Kimba told Leah before lying back down and cuddling some more with Dawn. 

Several hours later…

Alex saw the familiar dark-wooled sheep coming towards them. “Leah! You came!" Alex cried out, and embraced the sheep. Alex then set Leah down and turned to face the rest of the gang. 

“Everyone, this is Leah. She’s one of the best mystics I know, and she’s been a loyal servant of the Lionheart family. I called her here because she has a specific set of talents that I believe can help Legosi," Alex explained, introducing her to the others. They all surged forward to greet the newcomer, but Leah held up her paws and made a pushing motion. 

“We can do the introductions and pleasantries later! Right now, time is of the essence," Leah hastily said. She went into the room and laid her head down on Legosi’s chest, her eyes turning solid blue and glowing. 

“Looking into his heart… yes, I can see it now! The identities of the seven animals who have impacted his life the most! Ah, but two of them have passed on from this world… no matter. Five is still enough," Leah muttered to herself. Her eyes stopped glowing and returned to their bright orange color. 

“Haru. Louis, Alex. Jack. Gosha. Form a circle around Legosi, and sit down. Place one paw on Legosi’s chest, right above his heart," Leah instructed. They pulled up chairs around Legosi’s hospital bed and put their paws on his chest, all of them now connected. Leah then tied a rope around their other arm, forming a circle with the rope. 

“Can someone please explain to me what the hell is going on?" Louis groaned. 

“I’m preparing a ritual that will send your minds into Legosi’s consciousness. There’s likely some sort of repressed memory or side of him that is keeping him from waking up. You are to find Legosi within his mindscape, and ease his worries so that he is able to wake up," Leah said. 

“But we’re not ready yet!" Haru protested. Leah ignored their concerns as she yelled out a phrase in an unknown language. There was a bright flash of light that filled all of their eyes, and they felt the sensation of falling. 

Alex, Louis, Jack, Haru, and Gosha find themselves within a strange void filled with floating platforms. Though the future seems uncertain, they must press forwards and find Legosi! They gain an insight into the gray wolf's thoughts...? Shocking details about Legosi's mother are revealed, and Legosi seems to be on the edge! He must find a way to surpass his limits and evolve himself!!

Be here for the fortieth chapter of BEASTARS: Converging Destinies! Chapter 40: Dive To The Heart! Legosi, Awaken Your WILD SIDE!

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BACKGROUND MUSIC: DESTATI (KINGDOM HEARTS 3, 0:00 to 1:25)

When Louis, Haru, Jack, Gosha, and Alex came to, they saw that they were sitting on a massive floating platform in a black void. “Where the hell are we?!" Louis asked. 

“Right now, you are in Legosi’s heart," Leah’s disembodied voice told them. 

Alex looked around anxiously for his wooled friend. “Leah? Where are you!?" Alex called out worriedly. 

“I’m fine, Alex. You’re hearing my voice because you’re still connected to the physical world which I am still in. Now, you need to find Legosi. The path to him will become clear soon," Leah instructed. 

As they stood there, a spiral staircase going upwards to another platform started to appear. “That must be the path that Leah was talking about. Let’s go, everyone. Legosi needs us," Alex ordered. 

The assortment of animals began to ascend the staircase. “You must be careful. The heart will not take too kindly to intrusions. It will form barriers of thoughts in an attempt to keep you from Legosi. You must push through them, and in some cases, counter them with your words and emotions," Leah told them.

“Everyone I love, I’ve only caused them pain and worry…”

The group staggered, as if they were hit in the chest. Legosi’s words pierced their train of thought and caused them to pause. Alex shook his head and began to climb. “The hell is he talking about?!" Louis muttered. 

“He feels like… he’s only hurting the animals he loves?" Haru murmured, looking concerned. 

“Keep moving forward. You will probably find out more about his feelings as you get closer and closer to his core," Leah explained. 

BACKGROUND MUSIC: FRAGMENTS OF SORROW (KINGDOM HEARTS 3)

They continued to climb the stairs, reaching a second platform. One of the circle markings on the platform started glowing, and in the circle was a portrait of Louis. A shadowy version of the deer materialized in front of them, and Louis stepped forward to meet his doppleganger. The red deer unscrewed his antlers and held one each in his paws, wielding them as if they were twin blades. 

“Louis… if I hadn’t asked you to come with me to the black market to save Haru…”

“You would still be here with us… with a future as the next BEASTAR…”

Shadow Louis snarled and charged forward, with Louis following likewise to meet his dark counterpart in battle. The two of them clashed, striking at each other with their antler swords. Louis grimaced as he kept parrying his foe’s blows, but it was getting more and more difficult to keep blocking the attacks. Luckily, though, his enemy slipped up, and left his chest open. With a single swift motion, Louis stabbed his weapon through the doppelganger's chest, causing it to dissipate into nothingness. 

“I never wanted to be the next BEASTAR, Legosi... I wanted to change the world, actually make a difference. That’s why I became the leader of the Shishigumi, to make the black market a safer place for carnivores and to prevent students from being kidnapped. But you were hurt while I was away… and I’m not going to leave you again, you dumb wolf. I realize now that you mean too much to me! So don’t you dare think of dying on me!" Louis yelled. Another set of stairs appeared, which Louis and the others quickly started going up. 

“Haru… if I hadn’t come into your life, you would have been better off…”

“You would still be with Louis, and the two of you would be happy together…”

A shadowy version of Haru appeared on the next platform, and Haru bravely stepped forward to face her mirror. “Legosi-kun… you really think that? Sure, me and Louis were happy together, but… I know that there was something missing. Something was always in the back of my mind, telling me that we weren’t right for each other. And then, I met you… you gave my life new meaning. You and your silly, shy, awkward personality. Talking with you every day gave me something to look forward to. I had never been friends with anyone like you, and you slowly but surely managed to win my heart. I want to live my life with you, Legosi. And I’ll always be true to you," Haru announced. The bunny leapt forwards and kicked her dark duplicate in the chest, before punching her in the face. Shadow Haru exploded into a million tiny dark particles, and they scaled another set of stairs.

BACKGROUND MUSIC: DISMISS (KINGDOM HEARTS: BIRTH BY SLEEP)

“Jack…you’ve done so much for me… you’ve been the brother that I never was given…”

“You’ve taken care of me and supported me through all these years…”

“But I’ve only caused you worrying and pain… more than I have made you happy…”

Another dark version of one of them appeared. This time, it was a dark form of Jack. The labrador whined, but realized he had to face his fears and walked up to his opponent. “Legosi… how could you think this way?! Yes, I worry about you, but that’s because you’re my friend! Worrying about you is just part of our bond. You’ve made me so much happier, Legosi, you made me appreciate being born a labrador. You’re smart, and wonderful, and kind… I wouldn’t change any part of you if I had the chance! I like you for the wolf you are, and you shouldn’t ever feel as if you’re a burden to me!" Jack cried out. 

Hearing his best friend doubt his friendship made Jack angry, and he judo-flipped the spectral dog, causing it to explode into nothingness. Alex was impressed. “Where did you learn to do that, Jack? I thought you were a pacifist," Alex remarked as they walked up another flight of stairs. 

“I took a few martial arts classes when I was young! I was a huge Power Rangers fan, and I wanted to learn how to protect myself if I ever got into any real danger that went beyond just standard schoolyard bullying," Jack answered, his tail wagging from Alex’s praise. 

“Alex… you and I have known each other for only a few months…”

“But I feel like you’ve been a part of me for a very long time…”

“You’ve helped me with Haru, the drama club, and so much more…”

“I’m sorry about messing up the investigation for you. You won’t have to worry again…”

An Alex apparition appeared, and the white wolf started fighting his clone. “I won’t let you leave my life so easily, Legosi! You’ve got a lot of life left to live, and you made this investigation worth continuing. I would have lost interest in this if I hadn’t met you and the rest of our friends. Together, we’ll find out who killed Tem and put you in this coma, and we’ll bring him to justice! That’s a promise!" Alex growled as he managed to destroy his shade. Panting, Alex stopped to catch his breath before they ascended another flight of stairs. 

BACKGROUND MUSIC: L’EMINENZA OBSCURA II (KINGDOM HEARTS 3D)

“Grandpa… I’m sorry for causing you so much trouble…”

“I haven’t talked to you in ages… you must be worried sick…”

“Do you even know that I’m in the hospital? Oh god… if I died and you weren’t there…”

“It would be so awful for you… it would break your heart…! I’m a terrible grandson!”

“I shouldn’t have cut you out of my life like this… I miss you, Grandpa Gosha...”

Gosha sobbed and sank to his knees as a Gosha clone gnashed its teeth and hissed. “Legosi… you missed me that much? I’m at as much fault for the sorry state of our relationship as you are… I never called, or wrote a letter… I guess I was afraid that you would remind me of my daughter Leano. And I was afraid that if I tried to stay in your life, people would reject you for being a hybrid. I truly thought that staying away would be the best for you... But I know in my heart that I was wrong. I was being a coward. We need each other in our lives, Legosi. I’m going to start making it up to you, beginning RIGHT NOW!" Gosha exclaimed as he stood back up and started to fight his specter. 

The two Komodo dragons grappled, and it was clear that Gosha was struggling. An emerald green liquid shot forward from his mouth and disintegrated his evil twin. The reptile then wiped his mouth off with his shirt. “Komodo dragons can spit venom, you see," Gosha revealed to the others. They then went up a sixth flight of stairs, and this was the final platform. A dark barrier surrounded a door. 

“That’s it! There’s the entrance to his core! All you have to do is destroy that dark barrier, and you’ll be able to reach Legosi!" Leah announced. Alex took a step towards it, but was knocked backwards by a surge of negative emotions. 

“Mom… why did you have to leave me?”

“Did you really value your beauty over your own son and father?”

“Your scales started to take over your fur when you were 19…”

“And when I was six, you shut the world out… you locked yourself in your room…”

“You only spoke to me through a hole in the door… you never came out, or showed me your eyes…”

“And then, when I was 12… you slept with me in my bed for one night… and then you left us!”

“Maybe if I hadn’t been born, you would still be alive! At least I’ll be with you soon…”

BACKGROUND MUSIC: DIVE TO THE HEART (THIRD REVIVAL) (KINGDOM HEARTS III)

A shining ball of light flew down from the sky. A feminine voice, smooth as silk, spoke to him. “Oh, my sweet Legosi… you’ve grown so much… I wish I had done many things differently. I shouldn’t have died for the sake of my appearance, and left you when you needed me the most… but I will not let you perish, my son. You still have a bright future ahead of you, and I want you to live a better life than I did. I love you with all of my heart, Legosi. All the way to the moon and back.” The ghost of Leano lamented. 

The barrier blocking the way to the door disappeared.  “Leano… I promise, I’ll carry out your wish," Gosha solemnly said, before walking up to the door. 

“This is it everyone. Legosi’s just past here. Come on!" Gosha cried out, before opening the door and walking through it. 

Everyone else quickly followed suit. They entered another stained glass platform, with Legosi standing in the middle. “LEGOSI!!!" Gosha sobbed, before running up to his grandson and tackling him in a hug. 

“Grandpa!!" Legosi exclaimed, smiling and wagging his tail rapidly. 

“Oh, how I’ve missed you!” Gosha sighed happily as he let Legosi out of the hug. 

Haru and Louis were next, with the bunny planting a kiss on his snout as he bent down to her level and Louis ruffling the fur on the wolf’s head affectionately. Then Haru slapped him in the face, causing him to wince. “Don’t you DARE do something reckless and stupid like that ever again, you hear me?!” Haru yelled at him. Legosi gulped and nodded. 

“Y-yes Haru…” The canine meekly said. 

Then Jack gave Legosi the tightest hug out of all of them, and Alex threw his arm around the gray wolf’s shoulders. Legosi’s tail wagged as he looked at all of his friends, who had risked quite a lot to come and see him in this ethereal void. “Did you really mean all of the things that you said about me?” Legosi asked excitedly. 

Alex snorted in response. “OF COURSE WE DID YOU DUMBASS!” Louis and Alex yelled out. 

Jack then extended a paw towards Legosi. “Let’s head back to the world of the awake, buddy.” Jack told his best friend. Legosi reached outwards to grab Jack’s paw, but a sudden rumbling of the ground knocked all of them flat on their behinds. 

BACKGROUND MUSIC: VS DARKSIDE (KINGDOM HEARTS III)

“W-what was that?” Haru yelped as the ground continued to shake. 

Jack’s eyes widened and he started shaking in fear. Trembling, he raised a paw and pointed behind Alex and the others. “L-LOOK OUT!” Jack screamed. 

Gosha, Louis, Haru, and Alex turned their heads and saw a gigantic shadow monster rising from the void. The silhouette solidified and colladesced into a monstrous Legosi that had lizard scales covering its body. “I thought we defeated all the guardians that were keeping us from finding Legosi, Leah!” Alex groaned in anger. 

“This isn’t a guardian… it’s a manifestation of the inner emotions Legosi has kept inside of him! This must have formed from all the pain and guilt he had felt for keeping his hybrid self a secret from everyone all of these years!” Leah explained. 

Shadow Legosi roared at them, and all of them took fighting stances except for Legosi. Alex pounded his fists into the massive shadow’s arms, but it didn’t have any effect on it. The creature quickly lifted its arm up and slammed it down on Alex, sending him flying. “Gahh!” Alex cried out in pain, feeling like he had just been hit by a car. 

Louis wielded his antlers as swords, slashing wildly at the monster. He managed to bring down his antlers on the creature’s arm, but they broke on contact with the scales. The monster then sent him flying and he landed near Alex. Haru’s punches and kicks harmlessly bounced off of Shadow Legosi’s scales as well. Gosha went for a tail strike, wrapping his tail around one of the demon’s digits, but this backfired when the monster picked him up and dangled him over the void. Lunging forward, the titan grabbed both Haru and Jack in one swift motion, beginning to crush their windpipes. 

Legosi could only watch in horror as his friends’ attempts to stop his repressed emotions failed and got them hurt. He screamed when he saw the behemoth begin to suffocate Jack and Haru. It really WAS true then. No matter how hard he tried, he would hurt his friends and loved ones somehow. 

Legosi dwelt on that thought for a while as time seemed to slow down. Hurting the animals he loved most… everyone did that to their friends and family, most of the time not on purpose. It was just a part of life. And he didn’t exactly care about how society viewed him. He didn’t care if most animals didn’t approve of his relationship with Haru, he knew that he loved her and that was enough. 

Then an idea occurred to him. Why not apply that same outlook to his hybrid side? It would alleviate much of the future pain and suffering it would cause him. Yes, that would work. If he was going to continue being honest with himself, he had to admit he was growing tired of hiding who he really was from the world, and letting everyone continue to keep their preconceived misconceptions. If the world was going to change, he would have to be more open with it. It was time! No more running! Legosi took a deep breath and stepped forward. “STOP! It’s me you want! I don’t want to run from you anymore.” Legosi howled. 

Shadow Legosi looked at his other half and released Gosha, Haru, and Jack from its grasp. It then let out an ominous laugh, before turning into a large cloud of black vapor. “You are a part of me. One that I’ve tried to lock away since I was a child. But I won’t anymore. I need you. You need me. We need each other. I accept you!” The gray wolf hybrid continued. 

The shadow creature grinned, before the black vapor shot into Legosi’s mouth. The hybrid wolf started choking, and that was the last thing Alex and the others saw before waking back up in the hospital. Legosi’s heart rate started to spike, and he began to convulse wildly. His eyes started fluttering open, and he made several grunting noises. 

Then came the burning sensation in his arms. Legosi let out a painful scream as he felt the part of his arms in between his elbows and his paws ignite. He looked down at them, and gasped in shock to see the fur in that area falling off of his arms like shedding season on overdrive. Then, his skin began to harden, and green spots began to spread across his exposed skin. At the same time, he felt something that was smooth and leathery take over the areas of his arms that had shed their fur. He realized that his body was now manifesting his Komodo dragon side, which would accelerate his healing process. That meant that these green spots were scales! 

Legosi grunted and then sighed as the pain he was feeling began to subside. He brought his arms closer to his face and began to inspect his new-grown scales. Haru walked over to him so she could get a closer look for herself, putting a paw on his arm and running it across his scales. “Ooh, that feels nice!” Haru purred. 

“Legosi, it doesn’t matter what you look like, or what kind of animal your family is. We’re your friends, and we’ll stick with you through thick and thin.” Collot’s voice gently told the wolf. 

“Yeah! And you look even more cool now!” Voss chimed in from atop Collot’s head. Legosi cracked a smile as his friends complimented him. “Heh heh, you really think so?” Legosi chuckled. 

“Absolutely! You look like a badass, Legosi.” Louis agreed, nodding his head and grinning. 

“Or an anime protagonist!” Bill added. Legosi grinned and nodded his head before grunting as he got on his feet. 

Gosha was there instantly, letting Legosi lean into him for support. “It’s still way too soon for you to go back to Cherryton, you need to rest for a few days!” Leah scolded him. 

Legosi sighed in understanding. “I know, I know… but I don’t want to be stuck in this hospital either. Grandpa? Can I stay at your house for a few days? I think we have quite a bit of catching up to do.” Legosi then asked. 

Gosha smiled, overjoyed that Legosi wanted to spend time with him. “Of course, Legosi! I would enjoy that very much.” Gosha enthusiastically replied. They started to slowly walk out of the room and Alex smiled as he watched them disappear from his view of vision. 

“You know, we need a group name.” Sheila suddenly said. 

Alex looked at her incredulously. “Group name? For what?” Alex asked. 

“For this group, dummy! The group that’s going to figure out who killed Tem and attacked Legosi!!” Bill exclaimed. 

“He’s right! Most of us may not have known Tem too well, but we DO know that Tem was Legosi’s friend, and a close friend at that! He was a really great animal. One time, he visited the 701 dorm, and he was really friendly. His wool was almost as soft as Collot’s fur too!” Voss added. 

“And when you mess with Legosi, you mess with ALL of room 701!” Jack cried out. “RIGHT!” All of the other canines chorused. 

Alex looked at all of the animals in the room, and sighed before nodding his head. “Fine. You are dead set on assisting me. In that case, Sheila is right. We need a group name. Got any suggestions?” Alex murmured. 

At this, Bill’s eyes sparkled. “We’ll be… the BEASTAR Crusaders.” Bill declared. 

When a sudden emergency occurs on Legosi's first day back at school, Alex and Bill must take the lead! But this unforseen crisis is not entirely bad... Alex takes advantage of it and uses it to determine the identity of Tem's murderer! You'll all find out who the murderer is next time, on BEASTARS: Converging Destinies!!!!

Chapter 41: A Sudden Emergency! The Killer Slips Up, And His Name Is...!

The brilliant piece of art was done by n0ne1mp0rtanc3!

Chapter Text

It had been almost a full week since Legosi had woken up from his coma. Today was Sunday, and it was his first day back at Cherryton Academy! His tail wagged as he walked around the drama club and worked on adjusting the lighting. To him, nothing beat working on the stage lights, and making sure that everything was in proper order. Though playing the role of Adler on the second night of the performance and getting to ‘fight’ Alex was a close second, Legosi preferred not being in the spotlight and instead assisting from the shadows.

Today, he was wearing a long sleeved shirt to hide his newly grown scales. He was still getting used to the idea of showing his scales to the entire school, and had decided to only have them exposed when he was with his close friends and family. Everyone at the drama club had been overjoyed to see him, though the gray wolf still wished that Louis was there. 

The deer was still leading the Shishigumi, but he had met Agata at the hospital, and the black Congo lion seemed like a pretty nice feline. The gangster had apologized profusely for the actions of the previous boss, admitting that most of the gang had felt pretty conflicted about abducting Haru. In fact, most of the Shishigumi were morally good animals, they just were part of the Shishigumi so they could eat meat. Legosi knew from his appointments with Gouhin that the Black Market’s meat supply came from the bodies of already-dead animals, and he had to admit that meat was an important part of most carnivores' lives. 

One time, Legosi had asked Alex about Zootopia and if it had a black market like Cherryton. He had expected the white wolf to be rather sensitive about the topic, as the wolf hadn’t tasted meat for over a decade and a half due to a traumatic childhood experience involving a rather voracious elephant who tried to eat him (ending in the elephant’s demise, Alex describing the scene as something similar to the chest burster scene from Alien ). To his surprise, Alex was extremely open about the topic. It turned out that Zootopia had developed cloning technology, which was used on dead bodies to mass produce harvestable meat and ship it to the different districts. Alex made it explicitly clear that cloning living animals was made impossible. 

This made Legosi curious: how did Alex know so much about the cloning and meat producing process for Zootopia? He thought Alex would dodge that question too, but Alex gave an honest response to that inquiry as well. It turns out that his adoptive mom, Dr. Iris Stenchington, had patented the cloning technology and process, making billions of dollars and reducing the predation incident rates of the city by over ninety percent. 

The gray wolf shook his head, getting him out of his thoughts and back to the present. He scanned the drama club back room, observing all of the other animals while also making it appear to others that he was looking down at his clipboard. Alex was leaning against a wall, chatting to Bill about training. Kibi the anteater was talking to Pina, the new student, about costumes, while Tao the panther hung off to the side, close to Kibi. Riz the bear was helping Dom the peacock move the light projectors. 

Seeing Dom reminded Legosi that he needed to discuss some ideas for the lighting he had. Legosi walked up to dom and held the clipboard in his hands. “Dom-senpai?” Legosi called out. 

“Yes, Legosi?” Dom replied, batting his eyelashes at the canine in his typical flirty fashion. 

“I think we should use a red light filter for Pina’s spotlight. He’s the star actor of the show," Legosi told his avian friend. 

Dom clapped his feathered hands together enthusiastically. “Excellent idea, Legosi! His body is completely white, so a red filter would be perfect to make him stick out even more," Dom replied, smiling warmly at the lighting expert. 

Then, time seemed to slow down for a short period. Out of the corner of his eye, Alex saw Kibi wincing in pain as Tao was helping him with his stretches. He stepped away from Bill towards the anteater, and that was when it happened. Alex heard the snapping of bones, and the sound of sinew forcibly being pulled apart. He could do nothing but watch in horror as Tao lost control of his carnivorous strength and ripped Kibi’s arm off. Everyone stood there, frozen in place for a second that seemed like an eternity as their brains processed what had just happened. 

Then the chaos and panic set in. One of the herbivore students squealed in fright as Tao looked down at the arm he was holding in his hand. The panther’s eyes widened in horror as he realized what he had just done. “WHA… WHAT?! OH!!” Tao yelped as he saw the blood dripping out of the exposed flesh, and dropped it on the ground. 

Kibi crumpled, his remaining paw clutching his shoulder stump as it started bleeding. “AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!” Tao screamed, terrified at what he had just done to his best friend. 

Alex and Bill exchanged a glance, and in that instant they knew exactly what they wanted each other to do. “Herbivores, get back!” Bill yelled out, waving his arms and making the herbivore drama club members run to the other side of the room and huddle together. “N-no… I didn’t! WHAT HAVE I DONE?!?!” Tao sobbed. 

“My arm, my arm, my arm!!” Kibi moaned as he kept bleeding. 

The tiger and white wolf rushed forward. Alex ripped his shirt off and knelt down by Kibi. “Kibi, can you stop clutching your shoulder? I need to apply pressure to your wound," Alex gently said, using a calm and soothing tone of voice. 

Kibi gulped before slowly moving his paw away from his shoulder. Something about Alex was reassuring to him. He wouldn't have let any other carnivore aside from Legosi near him in this state, but something about Alex told the anteater that he was safe. Perhaps it was the lack of bloodlust in his eyes, his calm demeanor even in a crisis situation like this. 

Alex wadded his shirt up into a ball and pressed it against the bloody stump, applying a moderate amount of pressure. Too little pressure would make the arm continue to bleed, and too much pressure could cause damage to the shoulder. “That’s it, buddy. Now fight. Fight to stay conscious. Keep breathing. In and out. In and out," Alex encouraged. 

Alex lifted his head up and looked at the carnivores who were just standing there. “I need someone to help carry him to the infirmary," Alex told them. 

Aoba the eagle stepped forward to pick Kibi up, but the anteater shook his head and shivered in fear. “Don’t touch me, you carnivore! I don’t want to lose my other arm too!” Kibi squealed in terror. 

Alex sighed. This reminded him all too well of the time that rabbit cub had climbed further and further up the tree and broken her legs. “Obviously we can’t have a random volunteer. Kibi, look at the animals before you, and choose the one that you trust the most to help carry you to the infirmary until the ambulance gets here," Alex said. 

One of the herbivore drama club members had already called 911. Kibi immediately pointed to Legosi. The gray wolf walked up to Kibi and softly picked him up before taking him to the medical ward of the school. “Don’t forget the arm!” Legosi called out as he exited the room. 

Alex scanned the room as he saw Riz bending down to pick the arm up. The wolf had been keeping a close eye on the drama club members, observing their reactions to the situation. He lunged forward and slapped Riz’s paw away from the severed appendage. “Hey! What was that for?!” Riz snarled. 

Alex hissed and growled in response. “You’re not going to take this arm to the infirmary!” Alex roared. 

Everyone in the drama club was shocked by this. “What are you doing, Alex!? Riz is the kindest, gentlest bear in the school! Why can’t he take the arm to the medical ward?” Els gasped. 

Alex ignored Els and poked Riz in the chest. "You're disgusting, you know that? Your friend is bleeding out right now, and all you can think of is taking a bite out of his severed limb. You're DROOLING, for God's sake! How can you think of eating at a time like this!? You can't carry his arm to the hospital. The way that your body is reacting, I don't trust that you won't slobber all over the limb and infect it with your ursine bacteria, or take a bite out of it," Alex snapped. 

The look of fury that Alex saw in Riz’s eyes confirmed his suspicions. A normal animal would have felt ashamed of themselves, but Riz wasn’t. He was angry at Alex. It was almost as if he was wanting to nibble on Kibi’s arm and see how it tasted. Alex knew in that instant that Riz was the culprit, the man behind the slaughter. Riz was the monster who had killed Tem.

Sheila pushed the two of them apart and picked up the arm. “Alex. Go and talk to Tao. He needs some reassurance that everything will be okay," Sheila advised, before giving Riz a look of contempt. It seems that Alex wasn’t the only animal who had noticed Riz salivating. Alex walked away from the brown bear and to Tao, who was crying to himself outside the drama club building and was being comforted by Bill and Aoba. 

“What am I going to do?!?! I-I’m the bastard who ripped his best friend’s arm off! I-I’m going to get a life sentence!!! IT’S ALL OVER FOR ME!” Tao sobbed to himself. Alex approached them silently, crouching so he could be eye to eye with the sitting panther. 

“Tao, calm down. Everyone present knows that it was an accident. Kibi’s on his way to the hospital as we speak, and limb reattachment surgeries are required by law to be practiced by all hospitals. That anteater WILL get his arm back. And if the surgery fails, then I will see to it that he gets a high tech prosthetic arm. As for the life sentence? A bunch of the animals that saw the event will testify in your favor if this does go to court. But even if you do get arrested, you’re getting nowhere near a life sentence. Zootopia and most other cities will give ten years at the maximum for an incident like this," Alex assured Tao. 

“How do you know so much about this stuff, Alex?” Aoba asked, impressed by the wolf’s knowledge. 

“You think Zootopia is immune to this shit? Nope. This happens about once every year or so. As for how I know about the hospital stuff, my adoptive mother owns several. You pick up a bit of knowledge about your parent’s profession," Alex explained. 

However, Alex’s assurance didn’t seem to calm Tao at all. “That’s not the problem…! I was shocked when I ripped his arm off… but the worst part about it was when they saw me panicking… I’m sure they thought that I was the one who killed Tem! The murderer hasn’t been found yet, so it’s only natural that they’d suspect me!!” Tao moaned. 

“DID you do it?” Bill asked. Alex’s eyes widened. 

“HELL NO! ALL THIS TIME, I’VE KEPT A CALM AND COLLECTED ACT SO THEY WOULDN’T SUSPECT ME! BUT THERE’S NO WAY I COULD HAVE KEPT MY COOL WHEN I TORE MY FRIEND’S ARM OFF!” Tao shrieked. 

Alex knew he had to do something before Tao’s hysteria escalated. If the panther didn’t calm down, he might go into shock. The wolf pulled back an arm and drove his fist into the panther’s cheek. “Get a grip on yourself, Tao!” Alex yelled. Tao just froze, comprehending what just happened. 

“Now that I have your attention, I know you’ll listen to what I have to say. The way you reacted to the situation was a perfectly rational and logical way to react. Many animals in your position would have reacted the same way," Alex told the panther. 

Tao started taking deep breaths to recompose himself. “Y-you really think so?” Tao asked. Alex nodded. 

“I’ve seen it a couple of times on the streets myself. They all reacted the same way you did. At least, when it was an accident," Alex answered. Then he decided that adding a little bit more couldn’t hurt. “Besides, at least you didn’t embarrass yourself like Riz-kun did," The white wolf added. 

Bill’s ears lifted up in interest. “Huh? How did Riz react?” The tiger asked interestedly. 

“He made a complete fool of himself… he was fuckin’ DROOLING at the sight of Kibi’s severed arm!” Alex growled. 

There was a collective gasp from all three of the others. “D-d-drooling!? That’s disgusting!!” Aoba exclaimed. 

Tao sniffled and stood up, with Alex helping him get back on his feet. “T-thanks, Alex… at least I didn’t do THAT in front of everyone. That’s horrible," Tao sighed in relief. 

Alex tightened his grip on the panther’s paw. “Now, you’re not going to get only praise from me. You still messed up, Tao. Although it was an accident, that doesn’t change the fact that you lost control of your strength. And you need to take measures to make sure you don’t make that same mistake again," Alex warned, before releasing the panther. 

The black feline’s phone buzzed, and he checked it. “It’s Principal Gon, he wants to see me in his office. Probably going to get expelled… well, it was nice knowing you guys," Tao sighed. 

“Wait. Before you go, give me your phone number, Tao," Alex quickly said. 

Tao hesitated before pulling a piece of paper out of his pocket and scribbling down his number on it. “Don’t know why you need it, but here you go," Tao dejectedly said as he gave his number to the white wolf. Bill, Aoba, and Alex watched as the panther walked off into the distance. 

After repeated begging from Legosi and Kibi, Tao goes to see his friend in the hospital. He is afraid of himself, and of hurting Kibi again. Will Legosi be able to help the panther overcome his fears? Find out next time, on BEASTARS: Converging Destinies!

Chapter 42: To The Hospital, Tao! Reconciliation Between Prey And Predator!

Chapter Text

The next day, Tao was sitting in his dorm room. He was still amazed at how the situation had turned out for him. He was expecting to get expelled or jailed, but Principal Gon only gave him a two week suspension! The tiger really was a kind mammal. But his light sentence only made him feel even more guilty about how he had ripped Kibi’s arm off. He checked his phone and saw several texts from Legosi, which also was surprising to him. Legosi never texted him. He decided to read through them and see what the wolf had wanted to tell him. 

Yesterday, 1:45 PM

Legosi: Sheila brought the arm with her to the infirmary. Kibi’s calmed down a bit, and he’s worried about you. He keeps asking where you are and if you’re alright.

Yesterday, 2:00 PM

Legosi: The ambulance is here, I’m going to ride with them to the hospital so I can keep Kibi calm. 

Yesterday, 2:08 PM

Legosi: He’s fallen unconscious due to blood loss, the EMTs say he’s going to be okay though. We’re about two minutes away from the hospital. 

There was then a video attached in another text message sent at 6:30. “The arm reattachment surgery was a success! Kibi’s doped up on anesthetics and painkillers right now, he’s awake and he keeps muttering your name,” Legosi’s text message read. 

Tao opened up the video attachment and saw Kibi lying there in bed, his arm now connected to his body again and wrapped up in bandages, as well as hoisted up into the air. The most heart-wrenching thing about the video, however, was the audio. “Tao… Tao… Tao…” The anteater mumbled deliriously, a tone of desperation, worrying, and concern clearly distinct in his voice. 

“He’s really worked up about me… but why? He should hate me, I nearly ripped off his arm! He should be afraid of me! Why is he calling out for me?!” Tao thought to himself. 

The panther tossed and turned in bed, torn up about what he should do. Eventually, however, he decided to listen to his aching heart and go see Kibi. He stood up and started walking down the stairs, heading to the kitchen to get a bite to eat before heading out.  “Hey Mom, I think I’m going to go see Kibi," Tao told his mother. 

At the moment, Tao’s mom was fixing him an egg sandwich, and she was cooking the eggs in a pan at the moment. When she heard him say he was going to see Kibi, her attention on the cooking was diverted to her son. She set down the pan on the stove top and rushed at Tao, hugging him tightly.  “That’s wonderful, Tao! Kibi’s your best friend. You’ve known each other since you were babies, and you haven’t been yourself ever since the accident. It’s about time you see him, and say whatever you need to say. Any hidden feelings you have towards each other? Got some secret you’ve been keeping from him? Let it all out to him, honey," Tao’s mother advised him. 

They then smelled smoke, and Tao’s mom squeaked as she saw some smoke coming from the pan. She turned the stove off and saw the egg she had been cooking was now on fire. She hurriedly doused it in the sink, and sighed. “There goes your lunch…” Tao’s mom muttered sadly. 

“Mom, it’s fine. I was going to bring some ant shakes to Kibi, I’ll pack an extra one for myself," Tao reassuringly told his mom. 

She smiled at him, and helped put the ant shakes in the cooler. “Come on, honey, let’s go to the hospital. I’ll drive you there," Tao’s mom said happily. They got in the car and started to head to the hospital. On the way there, Tao looked at his phone’s pictures, and saw his baby picture with Kibi. This led him to recall the story his mom had told him about how he and Kibi had met…

Tao’s mom was sleeping in her hospital bed, having just given birth to her son a few hours prior. Tao was placed in a little incubation chamber, standard procedure. The little panther cub was curious and hyperactive, he had been sleeping for a while and he was brimming with that newborn energy. He got up and started crawling and climbing all over the place, exceptionally strong and versatile for his age. The little panther cub was lonely, he wanted someone to keep him company! Surely someone else would feel the same way and want to be with him.

Following his nose and his instincts, the infant feline waddled around the room, climbing up the bars of a little crib and smelled something good. He wasn’t hungry, but that smell… it felt safe, and warm. Kind of like his mama, in the sense that this smell felt safe and warm. Once he got to the top of the crib, he tumbled and fell in. Thankfully his landing was cushioned by the soft mattress of the crib. 

He flailed his arms around wildly, and felt one of his paws brush up against something soft and fuzzy like him. A little gray fuzzball with an elongated snout opened its eyes and looked at the cute black furry thing that had found its way into his crib. “Aaaooo?” The anteater vocalized. 

Hearing that sound filled the baby panther’s heart with glee and delight. “Eeeebeeee!!” The panther mewled. The two newborn animals embraced, and the anteater gave a long, lengthy slurp with his extensive tongue. 

And that was how their lifelong friendship had started. The anteater and panther were inseparable throughout their early years, and they were thick as thieves. The two of them had shared so many adventures together growing up: playing pirates and making cardboard hats, swords, and a boat that they tried sailing on (which didn’t stay afloat for very long)... trying to steal from the cookie jar… eating crumbs off of the floor… Kibi becoming the Annihilator of Ants… 

Tears welled up in Tao’s eyes as he remembered everything they had done together. After all they had been through… he had nearly ruined his best friend’s life! He couldn’t keep this friendship with Kibi going, all it would do would put the anteater in further danger. They got to the hospital, and Tao’s mom walked him in. She knew this was something that Tao had to do on his own, she couldn't help him with this. 

After Tao was given directions on where to find Kibi’s room, the panther walked up to the room with a bouquet of flowers in one paw and the cooler filled with ant shakes in the other paw. All of his anxiety felt like it was crushing down on him like the weight of the sky, but he had to keep pressing onwards. He opened the door to Kibi’s room and walked inside. Kibi’s eyes and face lit up happily as he saw his best friend enter the room. “TAO! YOU FINALLY CAME!” Kibi cried out in delight. 

Tao blushed, glad to see his friend, but also felt a sense of overwhelming guilt now that he was finally face to face with his victim. The anteater grabbed a glass of milk from the bed stand and started to slurp it up with his tongue. “H-How’s your arm, Keebs?” Tao asked nervously, standing against the wall with a half smile, half frown on his face. 

“They stitched up my arm and reattached it pretty easily, I was on anesthetics for most of the surgery so I don’t remember too much of it. But it’s going to take a ton of therapy and training on my end for me to get this arm moving the way it used to. The doctors told me that my arm will heal a lot faster if I drink a ton of milk. Pretty convenient for me and my long tongue," Kibi replied. 

Tao just stood there against the wall, a look of guilt on his face as he shifted nervously. Kibi frowned. He felt guilty that Tao was being so distant, though he knew it wasn’t entirely his fault. His herbivore body wasn’t as strong or durable as Tao’s and if he were a carnivore, he likely wouldn’t have gotten into this mess. Right now, all the anteater wanted to do was to give Tao a hug and tell him that everything was going to be okay. “It’s really hard to talk to you when you’re so far away, Tao," Kibi sighed. 

Tao looked down at the floor, not willing to meet Kibi’s eyes. “Kibi… I shouldn’t have even come to visit you, I’m sorry… These flowers aren’t even that good…” Tao moaned sadly. 

Kibi huffed. He knew he had to take a bit more drastic measures in order to get his friend to forgive himself. “Tao. Come here. Please," Kibi insisted, using his tongue to gesture for Tao to come closer. 

He kept flicking his tongue around like that until Tao was within reaching distance of his arm. “That’s it, buddy. Closer. There’s nothing to worry about," Kibi’s voice coaxed Tao, causing him to draw nearer and nearer. Tao stood there, unsure of what to say or do in this moment. “Today’s a weekday… do you not have school today?” Kibi asked nonchalantly. 

“I’m on break… well, actually, I got suspended for two weeks. Surprisingly. I thought that I’d be expelled or jailed," Tao replied. 

“Well, it’s a good thing you weren’t. I’d hate to see you thrown in jail for something that wasn’t completely your fault," Kibi told him, relieved that his friend had only gotten a light sentence. 

“What I did to you can’t be dismissed as some freak accident that rarely ever happens… All it took was some stretches, and then, bam, I was holding your severed arm! It was just an accident… but it doesn’t excuse what I did to you! HOW CAN I EVER MAKE IT UP TO YOU?!” Tao sobbed. 

The panther started hyperventilating, memories of the traumatic event flooding back to him. “Tao. Touch my hand," Kibi commanded. 

Tao’s eyes widened and he took a step backwards. “W-what!? Y-you know I can’t do that, Keebs! I ripped your arm off, for God’s sake! I’m not going to even touch another herbivore ever again!!!” Tao exclaimed. 

“JUST DO IT!” Kibi yelled at the feline. 

“W-why…?” Tao whimpered. 

“You came to visit me! And you can’t live your life in fear of herbivores. Just like how I’m not going to spend the rest of my life afraid of carnivores. Touch my hand, so that we can make up. Just be gentle, okay?” Kibi explained. 

Tao hesitated for a minute before gingerly reaching his paw outwards towards Kibi’s bandaged arm. Once Tao’s digit was in distance, Kibi’s little paw grabbed onto it. Tao gasped in surprise.  “IT MOVED! No way! They connected all your nerves back?!” Tao cried out happily. 

Kibi nodded enthusiastically, bobbing his head up and down. “Yup, I started feeling it again this morning. With some good rehab, it’ll go back to the way it was!” Kibi told him. Tears formed in the panther’s eyes as he buried his head in the anteater’s bed and started weeping out of pure joy. “Tao, there’s something else I want to talk to you about too," Kibi then continued. 

When Tao was done crying his tears of happiness, he lifted his head up and looked at the anteater. “Yeah, Keebs? What is it?” Tao asked. 

Suddenly, the door opened and a female sheep nurse walked in. “Kibi? I’m here to talk to you about your physical rehab and what it entails," The nurse said. Tao pulled his digit away from the anteater’s grip and backed away. 

“Should I go now?” Tao asked. The nurse studied the panther for a few minutes. 

“Oh, you must be Tao! My name is Mary. Kibi told me a lot about you, you must be really special to him if he wants to continue your relationship after that nasty accident," Mary giggled. Tao blushed a little in response to that remark. “Now, Kibi, we’re going to keep you here for the rest of the day, then we’ll run some tests tomorrow morning and then you’ll be released from the hospital. You’ll need to keep your activity levels with that arm light so that you don’t overexert yourself or damage it. After a few days of that, then you need to start heading to the gym and building your arm strength back up. I'll forward you and your parents a training regimen that is standard for most herbivores who undergo limb reattachment surgery," The nurse began. 

Tao then had a thought. “What about his diet?” Tao blurted out. The ewe looked at him and chuckled. 

“My, what a considerate friend you are! It’s almost like you’re in love with little Kibi over there!” The sheep snickered. Tao’s blush intensified. 

“A-am I…?” Tao asked himself internally. 

“Anyways, he should be getting plenty of calcium and proteins. Milk and other shakes and smoothies would help in that regard," Mary continued. 

Tao opened up his cooler and brought out an ant shake, showing it to her. The light brown, chocolate-looking liquid looked delicious to Kibi. “Would ant shakes be okay?” Tao asked. She smiled at him and nodded his head. “They’re even better than regular milk for him! You really are a good friend to him," Nurse Mary told him. She soon left the room and let the two boys slurp down their shakes in peace. 

“So, Kibi, you had something you wanted to tell me before that nurse came in?” Tao asked. Kibi blushed and nodded. 

“Yeah… I think… I’m in love with you, Tao," Kibi softly said. Tao’s jaw dropped in shock. All along, he had suspected that he had some feelings towards the anteater hidden deep down inside of him, but to hear that Kibi harbored similar feelings for him? That was a huge surprise. “You know how we met when we were just infants and have been inseparable ever since?” Kibi asked. Tao nodded his head. “I think that we’re meant to be, Tao. I know that these sorts of relationships between predator and prey, they don’t always work out. But I want to spend the rest of my time on this planet with YOU," Kibi continued. 

Tao knew he had to seize the moment, and spoke up. “I think I’m in love with you too, Keebs. Always have. Just never knew how to say it, or tell you it. It makes me really happy to hear that you feel the same way," Tao excitedly said. 

“Tao, lean in close," Kibi then said. Tao leaned in close to Kibi’s face. The anteater’s tongue shot out and licked Tao’s face affectionately. 

“K-KEEBS!!!” Tao exclaimed, bursting into laughter. Kibi smiled confidently. 

“You taste really good Tao," Kibi chuckled. The two of them held paws together and stared into each other’s eyes, enjoying their company. 

Legosi goes to the gymnasium to get some training from Alex! To his shock and chagrin, he finds that Tao and Kibi are already at the gym, and Alex had invited them as well! This begins a seven chapter long arc dedicated to Legosi! You won't want to miss it!

Chapter 43: Legosi’s Training Regimen, Day One! Sundays With Alex, Tao, and Kibi!

Chapter Text

  Legosi walked through the courtyard, feeling a little apprehensive about what he was about to do. Ever since he had returned to campus from living with his grandfather Gosha, all of his friends had seemed like they were excluding him from their conversations, quickly changing subjects whenever he got close to them. From the little bits and pieces of conversation that he had heard, they were afraid about what might happen if he got attacked again.

Then, out of nowhere, Alex asked Legosi to head to the Cherryton Academy's gym Sunday morning. Legosi had accepted his request and that brought him back to the present, where he was making his way to the gym. In all his years of attending Cherryton, the gray wolf had never actually gone to the school gym. He hesitated for a moment before walking inside.

As Legosi went inside the gymnasium, he saw that a miniature boxing ring had been set up in the middle of the room, with spotlights shining down on it. Off to the side, there was a weight-lifting set and there was also a bench. To his surprise, Tao and Kibi were sitting on the bench drinking bottles of water and holding paws. The two of them yelped in surprise to see Legosi. "Legosi!? What are you doing here?!" Tao gasped.

"Me? Alex asked me to come here, he said something about training me," Legosi answered.

Tao's eyes widened as he processed this information. "No way! That wolf asked me and Kibi to do the same thing!" Tao exclaimed.

Kibi stroked his chin fur thoughtfully. "What would Alex hope to accomplish by inviting all three of us to this gymnasium at the same time?" Kibi thought out loud.

"To shoot down two targets with one arrow," Alex's voice rang out.

The white wolf hopped into the boxing ring, and assumed a fighting stance. "Alex, hey! What did you bring us here for?" Tao asked.

"I brought all of you here because you need training," Alex stated.

"Training?" The three of them wondered.

Alex pointed his paw at the gray wolf. "Legosi! You need to be trained on how to fight back. You were beaten within an inch of your life, and you almost died. I feel somewhat responsible for that, and I want to help prevent that sort of thing from happening to you again. We're going to fight, just like we did on the Adler stage, but this time, we won't have the luxury of fighting with fake wooden swords. No! We shall brawl like the ancients did, with our fists!" Alex roared with a grin on his face.

Then the white wolf turned to face Tao, pointing at him. "Tao! You need to be trained on how to properly control your strength. You lost control of it, and the situation that transpired because of that could have gone much worse. Kibi could have bled out, or had to get his arm replaced with a cyborg one and then he would have gone all Terminator on you. I'm going to teach you some exercise routines that will help you learn to properly control that predatorial power of yours," Alex sternly said, a slight tone of scolding in his voice as he spoke to Tao.

Finally, the wolf whirled around and looked at Kibi. His expression softened as he stared into the anteater's eyes. "Kibi. You're a selfless animal, and I can tell you care very deeply about your panther. After what he did to you, you had every right to press charges and make his life a whole lot worse. But you proved better than that, by wishing to make amends with him and helping him get over his trauma. Now, you need to improve that arm of yours. Limb reattachments take a lot of rehabilitation and exercise to fully overcome. I'll be helping you with fitness, but you'll be mostly working with Tao," Alex told the herbivore.

Kibi's eyes lit up and Alex pointed him over to the bench press. "Spot for him, Tao. I have to teach Legosi," Alex ordered.

The black panther nodded and walked over to work with his friend. Alex and Legosi walked into the ring, and the white wolf took up a fighting stance. Legosi hesitated before getting into a fighting stance of his own. Alex shook his head in response and broke his pose. "No, no! If you want to be able to fight well, Legosi, you have to maintain proper posture and positioning," Alex scolded.

The gray wolf stopped and stood up straighter at the mention of the word 'posture'. "Proper posture? Positioning? Fighting is a lot more complex than it seems," Legosi murmured out loud thoughtfully.

"All right. One of the most crucial, core elements of being able to fight well is to always maintain an air of confidence and calm," Alex began.

"You mean like Louis?" Legosi butted in.

Alex looked at him for a moment and then he smiled, nodding his head and clapping his paws together. "Yes! Just like Louis. That deer always put on a mask of confidence and composure. You must exude that sort of energy. It will throw your opponents off guard, causing them to slip up," Alex exclaimed.

"Okay, so how do I get into proper form?" Legosi then asked.

Alex grinned. "All right. Fold your ears, keep them close to your head. You don't want to get one of them crushed in the middle of a brawl, your hearing ability is vital to your perceptive abilities," Alex instructed.

Legosi's ears flapped downward and Alex nodded in approval. "Then, keep your gait loping. Longer strides will help you outmaneuver your opponent," Alex continued.

Legosi stood up straight and started bounding around the ring, and Alex gave him a thumbs up. Alex was very thankful for the fact that Legosi was a quick learner. If he wasn't, then Alex wouldn't be so willing to train him.

"Excellent. That's enough work on your form. Now, let's move onto some basic fighting principles," Alex announced.

Legosi's head bobbed up and down eagerly, excited to learn the valuable wisdom that the Zootopian hero had to impart. "First. Always keep your eyes on the enemy. I know for a fact that you are quite perceptive, Legosi. When that fox threatened you when you broke up the fight between him and that coyote? I could see the gears in your head turning, analyzing that vulpine. You were trying to figure out a way to throw the fight," Alex started.

Legosi blushed and chuckled. "Heh, yeah. Sometimes my brain just starts firing like that," The hybrid admitted.

"It is a most valuable skill to have. It will allow you to determine a foe's weak spots. Strike where they are most vulnerable! Once you have done that, then continue the onslaught! Maintain the offensive, and do not let up on them!" Alex continued.

"Then let's go. I think I'm ready to fight!" Legosi determinedly said.

Alex chuckled at the gray wolf's enthusiasm. "Ah, ah! You aren't fighting ME, Legosi. Instead…" Alex told his protege, before clapping his paws together.

"TAO! Get your rear in the ring!" Alex called out. The panther got in the boxing ring and held his fists outwards. "Alright. You two are going to fight. Whoever can get the most punches in on their opponent within thirty seconds gets to make the loser do whatever they want for the next half hour. GO!" Alex instructed.

Legosi and Tao went at it, with the gray wolf assuming the new position that Alex had taught him and managed to get several swift strikes on Tao. The panther, however, was no slouch. He also managed to get a fair amount of blows in on Legosi, though the gray wolf could more easily take the feline's attacks. Alex observed them go at it, counting all of their punches that each got in on the other.

When time was up, Alex whistled to signify that they could stop. Both carnivores panted, a little worn out from the brawl they had just been in. "So who won?" Tao asked in between breaths.

"Legosi, you won! You landed fifteen more punches than Tao. Nice dodging, my friend. Now, what would you like to force Tao to do?" Alex replied.

Legosi started sweating, he wasn't the kind of guy to punish others. "U-uh, maybe… oh I know! You can do some more exercises with Kibi!" Legosi then suggested. Tao sighed in relief, you could almost feel the tension in his body dissolve. "You're a really good friend Legosi," Tao told the canine, before doing some weight lifting.

Legosi goes to visit his grandfather, and is surprised to find the famous heroine Judy Hopps at his household talking with Gosha! Gosha tells Legosi and Judy an inspirational tale from his youth!

Chapter 44: Legosi's Training Regimen, Day Two! Mondays With Grandpa Gosha And Judy Hopps!

Chapter Text

Legosi yawned as he woke up in room 701 and saw Jack reading a book at his desk. The gray wolf rubbed his eyes sleepily and made his way out of bed. “Good morning Jack," Legosi greeted his friend.

Jack smiled at his companion and his tail wagged happily. “Good to see you up and early! Remember your new routine?” Jack asked. 

Legosi was still waking up, so he didn’t fully know what Jack was talking about. “New routine? I trained with Tao, Kibi, and Alex yesterday… what was on the table for today?” Legosi groggily wondered.

“You’re going to your grandfather’s house? Remember? He used to be a cop, just like Alex, and he wanted to catch up with you and teach you some of the stuff that he learned on the squad!” Jack gently reminded his friend. 

Legosi’s eyes widened and he grinned. Now that he and his grandfather were back on good terms with each other, Legosi loved spending time with him. In fact, just last week, he had been living with Gosha while he was resting up and recovering from the attack. Legosi hurriedly grabbed some clothes and popped in the shower. “Thanks for reminding me Jack!” Legosi called out before shutting the door and starting to wash himself off. 

Legosi quickly finished cleaning up himself and came out of the bathroom naked for all to see. Alex came in. “Hey, Legosi-- WOAH!” The wolf squealed, covering his eyes at the sight of the nude gray wolf.

“Oh! Hey Alex," Legosi nonchalantly said.

“Dude, put on some underwear at least! Jack, how can you not be weirded out about this?!” Alex murmured.

“Oh, heh! It’s nothing, realy. Us 701 canines are kind of like a pack, we’ve all seen each other naked before. It’s kind of a pack thing," Jack explained. 

“Weird… so you guys are okay with seeing each other naked?! I man, I know our fur hides our genitals, but still…” Alex questioned. The wolf shifted around, clearly uncomfortable with the idea.

“Yeah? Haven’t you ever been in a pack before?” Jack asked Alex. The wolf pointedly stared at Jack, causing the labrador to blush as he remembered that Alex had grown up on the streets and therefore didn’t have much experience with pack culture. 

“Hey, Jack? Maybe you can help Alex get into being a member of the pack while I go visit Grandpa," Legosi suggested as he got his clothes on and ran out of the 701 dorm excitedly. Alex gulped, a little nervous about what it might entail.

Gosha’s house wasn’t too far away from Cherryton Academy, to both him and his grandfather’s surprise. Though taking a car or train could take anywhere from forty minutes to an hour and a half, Legosi had analyzed a map of the city and discovered an easy route that took only twenty minutes of walking to get from Cherryton to Gosha’s, as long as he took a shortcut through the Dokugumi-controlled area of the Black Market.

The wolf kept on guard as he sprinted through the dark alleyways, passing by several reptiles that were wearing gas masks. He believed that they were komodo dragons, but with the gas masks covering their heads it was impossible for Legosi to discern any facial features that were hidden underneath them. 

After Legosi made it through the black market, he quickly saw his grandfather’s house come into view. It was exactly as he had remembered it, except for one key noticeable difference:  there was a car parked in the driveway that he had never seen before. The curiosity in him decided to take a closer look and try to figure out whose car this was. 

First, Legosi paced around the car, peering into the windows and taking a look at the size of the car itself. The gray wolf knew that the size of the car itself would be helpful in figuring out what size of animal the owner was. From the looks of it, the driver’s seat, break pedals, and gas pedal were the perfect height for a rabbit driver. Then he looked at the ornaments that were hanging from the rearview mirror inside the car. There was a carrot scent air freshener and a dangling ZPD badge trinket. The license plate of the car also indicated that it was registered in Zootopia. 

Legosi didn’t have to think long before reaching a conclusion. The unfamiliar car in his grandpa’s driveway belonged to no one other than Judy Hopps! But what was she doing at Gosha’s house? Legosi opened the front door and went inside. As he walked through the hallways of his childhood home, he could hear Gosha talking to someone. 

He heard Judy laughing, and Gosha chuckling. He poked his head into the living room, and saw Gosha and Judy sitting at a small little table. A pitcher of lemonade was on the table, and Gosha and Judy were drinking from small plastic little tea cups. It was one of Legosi’s childhood toys; a birthday gift from an acquaintance who didn’t have any idea what to give him. Gosha had gotten more use out of the toy set than Legosi ever had; the Komodo dragon’s acidic drool was problematic for glass and metal cups, but it didn’t corrode plastic. Judy’s ears perked up as she heard Legosi enter the room and she waved him hello. “Oh! Hi Legosi!” Judy greeted the gray wolf. 

Gosha smiled happily at his grandson. “Legosi! Come on, sit down. I was just telling young Mrs. Hopps about you growing up," Gosha told Legosi. Legosi nodded and sat down on the floor, pouring himself a cup of lemonade and drinking from it.

“Judy, uh… what are you doing here?” Legosi asked. He quickly held up his hands in a similar fashion to how one would signify that they were surrendering. “N-not that there’s anything wrong with you being here! I’m just curious," Legosi hastily added. 

Judy giggled at the semi-socially awkward gray wolf. He reminded her so much of Alex. “Oh, don’t worry Legosi! I came to talk with your grandfather. I’ve always wanted to meet him, and thank him for what he did for me fifteen years ago," Judy answered.

This made Legosi pause for a second. “Why would you want to talk to Grandpa? Do you know each other?” Legosi wondered.

Judy shook her head no, but Gosha nodded his head yes. “Sort of… I knew about him when I was young, he was really famous and I kind of looked up to him as my hero. He was a big inspiration for me joining the ZPD," Judy explained.

“Actually, Judy, we do know each other. You might not remember it," Gosha replied. Legosi put his paws up, motioning for them to stop. “Wait. Gramps was your idol? Why?” Legosi blurted out. He didn’t really know much about his grandfather’s youth and early days, he had never gotten around to asking. 

Gosha chuckled. “Heh, I was quite active in my early days! I was one of Cherryton’s two Beastars alongside my best friend Yahya. We both moved to Zootopia and joined the police force there. The city was quite surprised to have its first equine and reptilian police officers!” Gosha told them.

The Komodo dragon sighed as he reminisced about his time on the squad. “Ah, those were the days. Yahya and I worked side by side together, saving lives and taking down criminals. We were making the world a better place! Setting examples for other animals to follow," Gosha thoughtfully said. 

“Then why did you leave and come back to Cherryton?” Judy questioned. She had always wanted to know what made Gosha leave his position at the ZPD.

“Love, of course. I met Legosi’s grandmother, a beautiful wolf named Toki. We fell in love, and I didn’t want to keep her worrying every single day of her life. That’s why I resigned as an officer, so I could provide a stable future for my wife. We traveled around the country, trying to decide where we should settle down and have children. One day, after we had Leano, we left her with a babysitter and went to Bunnyburrow," Gosha began. Both Legosi and Judy could tell the lizard was starting to tell a story, and they stayed silent so he could continue uninterrupted. 

“That time of year was Bunnyburrow’s annual Carrot Festival. Ah, there were so many young bunnies there who were surprised to see me and Toki there. They had never met a reptile before, or even seen one! Oh, how their faces lit up to see me. They asked me so many questions, and it filled me with joy to answer them. Then, I heard a terrified mewl. A young bobcat cub had gotten himself stuck up in a tree!” Gosha said. He could remember the pure look of fear on the young bobcat’s face, and how no one was able to coax him down with their words. 

“It looked like that branch might break any second, it wouldn’t have supported his weight for much longer. And a falling cub is somewhat difficult to rescue. They scream very loudly, kicking and flailing their arms around wildly in an attempt to grab onto anything, but all that kicking and flailing around makes it more likely that they’ll punch or kick their would-be rescuers in the face. But thankfully, that didn’t happen," Gosha continued, then taking a breath and pausing his story. He drank from his cup of lemonade. 

“And then what happened?” Legosi asked, desperate to know how the story ended. He loved hearing stories from his grandfather.

Gosha nodded his head, and cleared his throat before resuming the tale. “Then I saw a laser pointer dot appear on the tree. You know, the stuff they use at the feline corner at B-Strike. Anyways, I looked at where the dot was coming from, and I was astounded. A young Miss Hopps--” Gosha pointed a claw at Judy to show he was talking about her. “--Was using the laser pointer and making the dot go down the tree. A young kitten's mind easily was distracted from the fear of being so high up, and he chased the little dot down to the ground and made it back to earth safely. I was highly impressed…"

Gosha walked up to the young bunny cub and crouched down to look at her in the eyes. He smiled at her, and the young bunny could tell she had nothing to fear from the Komodo dragon. “That was some quick thinking, little lady! May I ask what your name might be?” Gosha inquired.

“Judy Hopps, sir," The cub blushed as she introduced herself.

“Well, miss Hopps, you’re a hero," Gosha chuckled, pulling his old police hat out of his pocket and placing it on her head.

She giggled as the hat was a little big for her. “You know, you should consider being a police officer," Gosha told Judy.

A cub that was standing near Judy snickered. “She can’t be a cop! She’s a bunny!” The cub jeered.

In response, Gosha grinned and threw back his head, letting out a hearty laugh. “Heh heh heh! They said the exact same thing about me and Yahya joining the police as well! They thought that reptiles and equines couldn’t fit in with the other animals there. And look at the two of us now! We were the finest cops of our generation!” Gosha exclaimed. 

Judy’s eyes sparkled with hope and joy as she looked at the scaly sage standing before her. “You really think I can be a full-fledged cop?” The young rabbit asked excitedly. Gosha nodded.

“Can I pick you up for a few seconds? Or you can climb on my head. There’s something I want to show you," Gosha replied. Judy nodded, jumping up on Gosha’s smooth green head. He then stood up and then pointed towards the great sprawling metropolis visible in the distance. 

“See that right there? About two hundred and eleven miles away lies the great city of Zootopia. It’s a place of great ideals and hope. Animals of all species live and work together in harmony. It’s not as perfect as everyone makes it out to be, but it’s still quite beautiful. In that city, anyone can be anything. And if you want to be a cop, young Judy? You can definitely achieve that dream there. The future is filled with limitless possibilities. Reach out, and grab the infinite future! And most importantly of all, try to make the world a better place," Gosha told her. 

Legosi smiled as Gosha finished his story. He was very impressed with his grandfather. Never in his wildest dreams had he thought that Gosha could have been a cop! He had always believed that his grandpa’s only job was working as a construction worker. Hearing the story of how he and Judy met filled Legosi with a renewed sense of determination. He stood up. “Grandpa, would you show me how you used to fight?” Legosi asked eagerly. Gosha’s eyes lit up and the two of them went outside to tussle just like they used to. 

Legosi heads to the Shishigumi manor to see Louis! The two of them catch up with each other, and the lions impart some wisdom to Legosi! Come back for another unique chapter of Converging Destinies!

Chapter 45: Legosi’s Training Regimen, Day Three! Tuesdays With Louis And The Shishigumi!!

Chapter Text

Legosi shifted nervously the next afternoon. He was standing in front of the entrance to the Shishigumi mansion. Just standing in front of the mansion gave him an unsettling feeling. Even though Louis had made the lions mellow, Legosi still feels some bad blood. Legosi took a deep breath trying to calm himself and was about to knock on the door when it was opened by Louis himself.

“Oh… Louis!” Legosi exclaimed, a little surprised to see his deer friend.

“Legosi. It’s good to see you," Louis greeted his friend. He stood off to the side as Legosi slowly entered the household. The minute he stepped in and looked around the area, adrenaline was already kicking in thanks to his first time being in the manor to save Haru.

“Follow me," Louis led Legosi to a room where a few of the Shishigumi lions were sitting in wait. Louis then turned around to stand in front of Legosi, and removed his jacket.

“Alright, Legosi, for today you will be trained on restraining yourself. Learning to not lose control of yourself and make mistakes. From what I’ve been seeing back then, you seem to let your anger or in most cases, your determination, get the better of you and cause you to be reckless. While it’s okay to be determined, there’s such a thing as too much determination," Louis began.

“So, what exactly can be done to help?” Legosi asked.

“You and I, as well as the few of the Shishigumi here, will be sparring, to teach you about controlling yourself," Louis continued. 

Legosi raised a brow. How exactly would this help? Louis gets in a battle ready stance. “Ready yourself, Legosi! Here I come!” Louis chuckled. 

Legosi prepared himself as he and Louis circled around. Legosi was still confused but tried to focus, as Louis soon came running in with a hard punch that Legosi managed to block. Legosi could feel the raw strength Louis had put into his punch, which was impressive given that herbivores were not usually very strong. Louis repeatedly threw more and more punches at Legosi as the wolf continued to block and dodge.

“Come on, wolf, is this all you can do?” Louis sneered as he kept going. As their spar continued, Louis began to increase the speed and ferocity of his blows.  “You’re not really this weak are you?” The deer taunted.

Legosi was completely bewildered by Louis’s behavior, shoving the cervidae away only for him to come running back in and begin mixing some kicks into his attacking. The canine finally responded with a blow of his own, punching Louis in the chest.

“Tch, not good enough, wolf. You won’t be able to handle any fight at this rate," Louis sneered.

“What are you talking about?” Legosi finally asked.

“You know what I’m talking about!” Louis growled. The two clashed with each other, exchanging punches and kicks as Legosi began to grow annoyed with Louis’s outbursts. Why was he doing this?

“What happened to that strength you had when you punched me, Legosi. Show me that strength!” Louis kept the outbursts going, despite Legosi’s annoyance. “Especially if you wish to  be strong enough for Haru! Unless you think you’ll never be," Louis taunted. Legosi snarled and shoved Louis again, this time running up and blindly throwing a punch, which Louis easily sidestepped and kneed Legosi in the crotch. Legosi grunted and stumbled backwards, losing his balance and landing on his butt. 

“Why are you doing this?!” Legosi yelled, frustrated by Louis’s actions.

“Is it not obvious?” Louis yelled. Then he slapped himself in the head. “Of course it isn’t, at least it isn’t to you . You were always naive," Louis sighed. He bent down and helped Legosi stand back up, pausing their training. “You know, there’s a saying about anger, Legosi. Let it consume you, and you lose sight of everything," Louis told him. 

Legosi’s eyes widened when he heard that. Was that what Louis meant by restraint? Legosi slowly got up and tried to calm himself down and get back in his ready stance. He soon charges at Louis with another punch expecting Louis to dodge.

“Still not good enough! Why aren’t you giving me everything that you have!? Show me the pride that you had when you performed as Adler and fought against Alex on stage!” Louis insisted.

“I… CAN’T!” Legosi bellowed, blasting Louis’s face with a mighty roar. 

“WHY? WHY CAN’T YOU!? I know you have that potential in you, dammit!” Louis screamed, burying his head in the gray wolf’s chest.

“B-because I’m fighting YOU, Louis! I have to hold back! You’re more than just a friend to me, and I don’t want to hurt you!” Legosi exclaimed. 

Louis froze when he heard the words ‘more than just a friend’ come out of Legosi’s maw. “More than just a friend?” Louis muttered. He then grabbed Legosi’s shirt tightly, pulling him closer. “What do you mean, more than just a friend!?” Louis growled, demanding an answer. 

“U-uh… R-r-romantically, I think?” Legosi sputtered. Louis threw Legosi back on the ground and stood over him, directly staring into the gray wolf’s eyes.

“What?! But you’re with Haru!” Louis exclaimed.

“G-Gouhin told me that I might have a herbivore fetish, and I’m starting to think he’s right… but you’re really special to me, Louis. To both me and Haru," Legosi said. 

The wolf then started getting back up, pushing himself off of the ground. His stomach rumbled, and Louis couldn’t help but giggle at the wolf’s tummy noises. Something about it was just so endearing to him. “Let’s get you some food, and then we can continue training you," Louis commanded his canine companion. 

The two were quickly brought their meals by the Shishigumi, Legosi getting a pure vegetable salad and Louis getting a salad that had bits of meat mixed in. Legosi was stunned to see his herbivore friend dining on the black market’s meat. “Why did you decide to lead the Shishigumi?” Legosi asked. 

Louis chuckled before responding. “After Haru got kidnapped by the lions, I felt that this world was corrupt, and that the role of Beastar was meaningless. I felt like the world needed to change, and that becoming the leader of the Shishigumi was the best way to make an impact. Do you want to know what I’ve accomplished since I started?” Louis said.

“Y-you haven’t shot anyone, have you?” Legosi asked nervously.

Louis decided to omit the previous gang leader’s death from his recollection to Legosi. “Nope. Me and the gang have been working to make the black market a safer place. No one gets plucked off the streets for a boss’s appetite. We’re making sure that students have a more difficult time getting in here. Some of the members guard the entrance and security check the animals who try to get in," Louis explained.

“Louis, everyone in the drama club wants you back. The school is falling apart without you," Legosi sadly said.

“How so?” Louis scoffed, beginning to take a long drink of his iced water. 

Legosi fidgeted and shifted nervously. “They’re planning on segregating the school once this term ends…” Legosi murmured.

Louis spat his water out all over Legosi’s face, coughing and gagging. “They’re WHAT?!” Louis gasped. 

Legosi nodded his head. “Y-yeah… like I said, the school’s kind of been falling apart. Tensions are at an all time high…” Legosi replied.

“I’ll think about it," Louis told him. He then stood up. “All right, this break has gone on for long enough. Back to training!” Louis commanded. Legosi straightened up and got on his feet.

“If you have a problem fighting ME in particular… then perhaps I should have someone ELSE fight you in my stead," Louis mused. The deer motioned for some of the lions to come forwards. “Sabu! Free! Dolph! Get that wolf!” Louis ordered. The three lions chuckled as they leapt towards Legosi and began attacking all at once. 

The group attacked all at once against Legosi who was feeling a bit overwhelmed but still remained calm and just focused on reducing the fight. Attack, dodge, and counter, those were the main three he focused on while enduring some attacks the Shishigumi and Louis were bringing. Louis was impressed with how Legosi was doing against a crowd. Usually when it comes to crowds Legosi used to act like staring in the eyes of Medusa, but now he was breaking through that. Eventually, Legosi managed to reduce the fight to just him and Louis as the few Shishigumi members were down for the count.

“Well, well, well..," Louis said with a chuckle. “Maybe you are strong enough after all,"

Now, Legosi visits the manga club with Bill and Els! A brotherly bond is formed between him and the tiger! Come back soon for another chapter of BEASTARS: The Divergent Variable!

Chapter Text

The very next day, Legosi was sitting down with the other carnivore members of the drama club (excluding Riz and Aoba) for lunch. There were only three herbivores sitting together with them: Haru (who was sitting next to Legosi), Els (who was sitting next to Bill), and Kibi (who was sitting next to Tao). “You know, Kibi, it’s really odd how things turned out. I kind of have to thank you for everything," Legosi commented.

Kibi arched an eyebrow in confusion. “What? What do you have to thank me for? If anything, I’m the one who should be thanking you ! You were one of the only carnivores who kept a level head when my arm got torn off and you carried it to the infirmary!” Kibi exclaimed. 

Legosi chuckled softly as he remembered everything. “The day and I Haru met, you and I were sent to the gardening club by Louis, remember? And then you left me by myself," Legosi explained.

Kibi’s eyes widened and his ears folded down in shame. “Oh gosh, sorry about that! I was freaked out by Haru… There were a bunch of nasty rumors about her going around and I didn’t want to get caught up in them. I still owe you that shake," Kibi apologized. 

Legosi smiled at the anteater and shook his head. “You don’t need to be sorry. Things might have ended up very differently if you hadn’t left me," Legosi told him.

Haru chuckled. “I must say, Kibi, you look a lot stronger than the last time I saw you!” Haru said.

Kibi giggled, flexing his arms and showing off the muscle. “Yup, I’ve been working out with Tao as part of my rehab!” Kibi exclaimed. 

“Legosi, buddy! I know you’re having fun chatting up with Tao, Kibi, and Haru, but can you come with me and Els? Alex wanted us to help you," Bill interrupted.

Legosi nodded his head and waved Haru and Kibi goodbye, with Haru tickling his chin and planting a kiss on his cheek before making a shooing motion. “Go, Legosi! You gotta get stronger, for me and for yourself," Haru insisted. 

The gray wolf then stood up and began to follow Bill and Els through the hallways. He wondered what Bill and Els had planned for him. He saw that they were going to the manga club, and the wolf’s interest was piqued. He didn’t even KNOW that Cherryton had a manga club! As they entered the small room, Legosi saw that the walls of the room were lined with bookshelves, each of the shelves being jam packed to the brim with mangas. On the table in the center of the room laid a pile of mangas neatly stacked on top of one another.

To Legosi’s surprise, he spotted a familiar face in the manga club room that wasn’t Bill or Els. Rather, it was his classmate Legom, a female chicken. “O-oh! Hello, Legosi!” The chicken squawked. She seemed a little flustered by the canine’s presence.

“It’s nice to see you, Legom. What are you doing here?” Legosi wondered, curious as to why Legom was there. 

“She’s a little bit of a celebrity in the manga world," Bill told Legosi. The flightless bird bobbed her head up and down in response.

“Yeah… My father, Keisuke Itagaki, wrote a really popular shonen manga series, Baki The Grappler. He donated a copy of each volume to the club after I started coming here. One day, I hope I can make a manga of my own!” Legom explained. 

Legosi smiled at her reassuringly, giving her a boost in her confidence. “I have the feeling you’ll make a great manga when the time comes," Legosi said.

“Legosi, how fast of a reader are you?” Els asked curiously. Legosi stroked his chin thoughtfully, before shrugging.

“I don’t know, moderately quick? I have an easier time with manga than regular books because it has pictures to go along with the dialogue and the inner thoughts of the characters," Legosi answered. 

Els nodded her head in response, before handing Legosi the first volume of the Baki manga. “We need you to read this and analyze it, pick up on the different fighting techniques," The angora goat told him.

Legosi took the book carefully from his friend before scratching his head in confusion. “How is this supposed to help me train?” The gray wolf questioned. 

Bill then gave Legosi a playful brotherly noogie on the head. It didn’t hurt Legosi at all due to his increased pain tolerance. “After you analyze it, you and I are going to practice! I want you to try mimicking the fighting techniques in the manga," Bill replied. Legosi gulped before nodding. 

The weeks passed by and every Wednesday, Legosi would spend hours in the manga club being lectured by Bill and Els as they overanalyzed the Baki manga and taught Legosi how to pull off the different moves. A good chunk of the day was spent exchanging blows with Bill. The tiger seemed to enjoy their brawls a lot, and Legosi had to admit he was beginning to like it too. 

Their fights felt symbolic, ritualistic. Carnivore against carnivore, fighting each other to demonstrate their power. As they fought each other again and again, Legosi started to feel a sense of kinship with Bill that was unlike any other bonds he had formed before. It was similar to the bond he felt with Alex and the other members of dorm 701, but vastly different at the same time. 

He was brought out of his thoughts by Bill running at him, growling playfully. The tiger leapt on Legosi and pinned him to the ground, and they rolled over so that Legosi was on top and Bill was on bottom. The feline began struggling wildly, Legosi’s weight too much for him to bear. In desperation, he lost control of his instincts and dragged his claw down Legosi’s back. “O-ooops! Gah! Legosi, I’m really sorry!” Bill apologized quickly. 

Legosi chuckled. Somehow, he hadn’t even noticed Bill had hurt him. “It’s fine, Bill. It didn’t hurt too much," Legosi reassuringly said. He looked in the mirror, and chuckled to himself. “Hey, look, Bill! They look like your stripes!” The gray wolf exclaimed.

Bill rubbed his head as he took his shirt off and examined his backside in the mirror, letting out a hearty laugh as he saw the stunning similarities between his back’s stripe pattern and the claw marks he had accidentally given Legosi. “Well damn, you’re right!! They do look like mine!” Bill guffawed. 

“Matching stripes… from one predator to another. I guess that kind of makes us bros, in a way," Legosi mused. Bill pulled Legosi in for a bro hug. “I think that’d be pretty sweet, us being bros," The tiger happily said. 

As part of his training, Legosi goes on a run with Jack and Sheila around the city early in the morning. Sheila takes the opportunity to try and get some dirt on Jack to tease him with later! Legosi tells her an adorable, heart warming story. Catch it next time, on BEASTARS: Converging Destinies!

Chapter 47: Legosi’s Training Regimen, Day Five! Thursdays With Jack and Sheila!!

Chapter Text

It was a Thursday morning, and the sun was shining down on Legosi and Jack’s window. The gray wolf was groggily woken up by Jack, and he knew that he was awake much earlier than he usually was. “Mmmph… Jack, what’s going on?” Legosi muttered sleepily.

“Come on, Legosi! You promised Alex that you would start jogging with me and Sheila on Thursday mornings!” The labrador gently reminded his friend. 

“Oh, right, sorry about that. Man time’s been going by so quickly I forget what day it even is," Legosi said.

“If I had a nickel for everytime I heard that," Jack chuckled as Legosi slowly got out of bed, “Me and Sheila will be waiting outside for you,"

Legosi soon got himself ready and headed outside where Jack and Sheila were chatting and chuckling for a bit. Legosi watched them, though he couldn’t really hear what they were saying. Seeing them talk like this brought a smile to Legosi’s face. The duo soon noticed Legosi.

“Well look who’s finally here?” Sheila smirked.

“You gonna stand there or start running with us?” Jack asked a bit jokingly.

“Yea, yea, I’m coming," Legosi sighed as he started to jog with them.

Legosi was running with the duo as he could hear them talk more. His focus on cardio made him not really pay much attention to what they were saying. It was interesting to him though how Jack was being so talkative like this as Legosi remembers back when Jack was kinda a quiet person even as he and Legosi met.

“Hey, Earth to Legosi!” Legosi heard Jack and Sheila holler, making him realize he was going in a completely different direction from where they were going. He quickly made his way back to them.

“Sorry, I uh just kinda spaced out a bit," The gray wolf apologized.

“Are you okay?” Sheila asked worriedly.

“Well it’s just, I find it interesting seeing you two interact like this. Especially since Jack wasn’t all talkative before even when we’ve met. He was as quiet as a zombie," Legosi told the cheetah.

“What?” Jack said with a bit of a blush, “I wasn’t that quiet…”

“You could barely form a sentence whenever we spoke to each other," Legosi pointed out.

“Well look who’s talking?” Jack retorted with a smirk, making Legosi rub the back of his head and chuckle.

“So I guess it became a role reversal between you two?” Sheila asked with a giggle.

“Guess so," Legosi chuckled along with Jack, “But it just makes me happy seeing Jack be close to someone like this,"

They continued jogging along the rather scenic route that Sheila had picked out for them to run before they began their exercise. The cheetah had plotted a course that would take them around the city without going into the black market. “Say, Legosi! You’ve known Jack since you were both pups. I bet you have some cute stories to tell!” Sheila called back. 

Jack began sweating, a little worried about what Legosi might end up telling her. The wolf began to tell her about one time from their childhood...

“Legosi! Wait up!” A young golden retriever called out as he chased after his friend. 

“Hurry up Jack! We’re gonna miss it!” Legosi replied, running into a nearby forest. Jack dutifully tried to keep up, but was lagging behind. The wolf jumped and skipped over stones, climbed around trees, and leapt through the air. Jack gasped, surprised at his friend’s agility. 

“Wow Legosi! I didn’t know you were so fast!” Jack complimented, stumbling over some rocks on the path Legosi had taken. The pair ran and ran, giggling and laughing as they ran through the grass. Legosi continued to bound through the forest, nearly leaving Jack in the dust. 

“Come on Legosi! I can’t- woah!” The young retriever was caught off guard by a small root coming out of the ground, his foot getting caught and falling face first into the dirt. Legosi heard the commotion behind him and spun to see the retriever laying face down. 

“Jack! Are you okay?” The young wolf asked, concerned for his friend’s health as he ran over to help him up. Once he was next to Jack, he gently helped him up.

“Ow… my foot hurts..," Jack whined, massaging the foot that was caught by the root. Legosi frowned, looking over his hurt friend. Mud covered his face, and his fur was dishevelled from the fall. The small wolf whined, helping his friend up. 

“Do…you think you can stand up?” The worried wolf asked.

“I…think so," Jack replied, wincing as he applied pressure on the injury. Legosi noticed immediately and wrapped his arm around the Labrador’s shoulder.

“Here, I’ll help," Legosi adjusted Jack’s weight so he could more easily carry him without putting any weight on the sore foot.

“T-Thanks Legosi," Jack stuttered out, still wincing slightly. Legosi smiled and helped the boy limp on. “Come on, we’re almost there," Jack nodded, keeping pace with the wolf once again.

The pair moved slowly and carefully now, until they reached a large hedge-like bush. “It’s just through here," Legosi instructed. Jack held onto Legosi tighter, practically hugging him as they both pushed through the hedge.

Once they were though, what Jack saw made him gasp in awe. What lay before the pair were trees extending far into the sky. Light could easily be seen pouring through the canopy, reaching even to the ground below where the pair stood. Redwood trees as tall as buildings towered overhead, creating a miniature ring around a centre clearing where a large boulder prevented growth of new redwoods. While impressive and beautiful on their own, the trees weren’t what made the little Labrador gasp. Covering every tree, and blanketing the forest floor, and even perched on the rock in the centre, where thousands upon thousands of monarch butterflies. The air was filled with the calming sounds of fluttering wings, and clouds upon clouds of butterflies migrating from tree to tree, not staying still for long as they seemed to constantly search for a better place to land. All this combined, was what dropped Jack’s jaw to the floor.

“L-Legosi…this…it’s amazing!” He yelled, sending a wave of butterflies into the air.

Legosi smiled happily. “This forest is part of their annual migration. I learned about it in school! I just knew I had to come here and see it for myself," Legosi told Jack, tail  going a mile a minute, seemingly just as excited as his golden friend. Both their tails beat rapidly behind them as they took in the majestic sight, seemingly lost in the beauty of it all.

After a long pause with nothing being said between the two, only the sounds of fluttering wings, Legosi spoke. “Hey Jack?”

The lab lightly shook off his daze and looked at his friend he was using for support. “Yeah Legosi?” He inquired back, cutely tilting his head. Legosi chuckled.

“Thanks for being the best friend ever," Jack’s eyes went wide, tackling the wolf to the ground and giggling loudly. The pair continued to play, surrounded by butterflies.

Sheila chuckled as Legosi finished the story. “That was adorable!” The cheetah exclaimed as they finished running. The three of them stopped and sat down in the grass, panting.

“I have to say… hearing that story from you was fun. Those were good times," Jack told his best friend. The gray wolf smiled at the golden dog endearingly.

“They really were," Legosi agreed.

“Well, I can’t wait for next week’s story!” Sheila snickered as she stood up and took off in a mad dash.

“SHEILA! WAIT UP!!!” Jack yelled as he and Legosi got back on their feet and raced off after her, trying to catch up.

The final day of the week with Legosi's training! Today is more of a relaxed kind of day, and Legosi settles down with Alex, Haru, and his dorm mates to watch a special show! Don't miss the conclusion of Legosi's training arc in the next chapter of BEASTARS: Converging Destinies!!

Chapter 48: Legosi’s Training Regimen, Day Six! Fridays with Alex, Haru, Jack, and Room 701!

Chapter Text

“Legosi! Alex! Come on! We’re going to be starting soon!” Collot called out. Everyone in Room 701 was excited. Alex had asked Jack, Collot, Miguno, Durham, and Voss to help train Legosi as well, but they had been keeping how exactly they were going to go about training the gray wolf a secret from both Alex and Legosi. Nevertheless, Alex’s interest was piqued. He was excited to spend more time with the 701 canines. 

Ever since he had been a young wolf, Alex had felt isolated from his fellow canine brethren, and never really knew how to interact with them. Somehow, he was an alpha wolf, which meant that in order to be accepted into a pack he would have to fight and dethrone the pack’s current leader. But with 701, they simply accepted him into their pack and treated him as somewhat of a co-leader, second only to Legosi in terms of pack standings. Once he was accepted, Alex started to take his relationships with his fellow pack mates more seriously; he hadn't gotten to know any of them too well aside from Legosi and Jack. Alex had bonded with the canines over many different things. He had bonded with Miguno over music, Jack over philosophy, sports with Durham, the complexities of women with Collot, and architecture and building with Voss.

Miguno’s band was pretty good, and the wolf had even offered to put in a word with some companies. Miguno simply smiled and shook his head; the hyena wanted to EARN his way to fame and fortune, and becoming well renowned for his music wasn’t even at the top of his priority list. All Miguno really wanted to do was to share his music with the world, even if it ended up giving him nothing in return. The satisfaction and smiles on the faces of the audience was more than enough for him and the other band members.

Durham was quite competitive, always trying to prove his superiority at something . Whether it was arm wrestling, athletics, or video games, the coyote was always up for a challenge. He had a bit of a friendly rivalry with Alex going, even though Alex almost always beat him. 

Collot was beyond wise for his age, and his eyes had the beauty and dazzle to compliment his sageliness. The sheepdog was rather laid back and chill, living life as it was happening and in the moment. Whenever one of the dorm mates had a problem, they went to Collot for advice. One time when Alex was returning from the black market, he saw Collot go into one of the apartments, and went to investigate, discovering that Collot had gotten into an interspecies relationship of his own. His mate was a lovely sheep named Sebun Bellwether, and Alex thought the two of them made a cute couple even if Sebun was a decade older than the sheepdog. 

With Voss, Alex was basically an ear to lend and a shoulder for the fennec fox to lean on. He often was frustrated with how the world was much bigger than he was; he was less than half the size of Haru. However, Alex assured Voss that there was much more to the world than simply height, and encouraged the vulpine to figure out a way to take advantage of his short stature. After finding out that Voss loved to build and design stuff, he made the suggestion that Voss look into architecture and design, so that he could help make things easier for other animals of his size. 

Now, Alex was in some comfy clothes, as were the rest of the canines in the dorm. “So, what’s this training you guys have planned for me?” Legosi asked curiously.

He saw that they had set up Collot’s second hand TV in the middle of the room, and had hooked it up to Jack’s computer. The labrador was also a bit of a tech genius, able to make things work together that would normally never be thought of as compatible. On the screen, Power Rangers on Netflix was pulled up. Alex scratched his head in confusion. “How is this supposed to train Legosi?” The white wolf wondered. 

“Don’t you know? This show is packed with martial arts and complicated maneuvers! We loved this show as kids, and last year, the dorm went for Halloween as Rangers!” Durham exclaimed.

The cop shrugged in response. “Watching something isn’t going to be enough to help Legosi get strong enough to take our culprit down. The five of you better have a bit more planned to help your friend," Alex grumbled. 

“We do! See, it turns out that all of us took a different martial arts class when we were kids. Jack’s a pretty awesome fighter, he took some classes from this rabbit and managed to develop his own fighting style. Go on, tell him!” Voss chimed in. Everyone looked at Jack expectantly. “I’m pretty darn good with a staff, or a shield like object. My fighting style is a combination of Capoeira and Aikido," Jack explained. 

Alex stroked his chin thoughtfully. He had no idea that Jack was the kind of dog that knew how to defend himself- he had believed that the labrador didn’t have it in him to hurt a fly. “You said that ALL of you took martial arts classes?” Alex inquired.

Everyone nodded their heads in response. “Tai chi! I might be tiny, but I’m extraordinarily fast," Voss answered.

“A bit of tae kwon do myself, hyena legs are pretty strong! Though nowhere near as strong as horse legs," Miguno added.

“Jujitsu! I’ve always been a rough em up close fighter," Durham said.

“My classes were for karate, so I know many different styles of self defense," Collot continued.

Legosi hesitated before telling everyone his art. “Krav maga. It was a style that taught you how to use your environment against your opponent, in addition to other things," Legosi told them.

All of a sudden, they heard the door open, and a familiar white dwarf rabbit walked into the living room of the dorm. “Legosi!? I thought you said you were going to go on a date with me!” Haru exclaimed, crossing her arms and tapping her foot in a frustrated fashion.

The gray wolf’s eyes widened and his ears folded, tail drooping to the ground in shame. “S-sorry Haru! I completely forgot! Alex said that my dorm mates were supposed to train me..," Legosi apologized. 

“Yeah, sorry Haru. Your date’s cancelled," Alex told her, and she glared at him in response.

“No! Wait! She can watch it with us!” Jack quickly suggested, not wanting to cause any problems for his best friend. Legosi quickly turned to Alex and gave him a puppy eye stare, the rest of the pack quickly following Legosi’s example. “Aw, all right! Fine!” Alex relented. Haru joined them on the couch, and they started watching Power Rangers. 

Every week, after they watched three to six episodes, Legosi would spar with one of the other canines as they instructed him on their respective martial arts style. The hybrid caught on pretty quickly, and was getting the hang of it at a good pace. Alex had to admit that their fighting skills were pretty good. Haru was also enjoying herself, getting into the Power Rangers show within the first couple of episodes. Alex loved every minute of the show too, it was a stellar piece of work for the 90s. 

After about five weeks, the canines had taught Legosi everything that they could, and had gotten through the first few seasons of the franchise. Haru regularly joined them to watch the show, and she was practically an honorary member of the pack at this point. A rather large box came in for Alex, containing a White Ranger costume. The white wolf was stunned; Collot explained that the whole dorm had pitched in to help buy it for Alex. After some pressure from the pack, Alex went into his room and managed to get the costume on. When the cop came out wearing the White Ranger suit and helmet, he was greeted by seven animals who were dressed in similar suits but differently colored.

Durham was dressed as the Red Ranger, Miguno dressed as the Blue Ranger, Voss dressed as the Yellow Ranger, Collot as the Orange Ranger, Jack as the Purple Ranger, and Legosi was dressed as the Green Ranger. Haru was also there, dressed up as the Pink Ranger. 

“Hey, looking good there," Collot called out to the white wolf patting his back, “The white really suits you. Alright come on, let’s get a photo," Collot brought Alex with the others into a group pulling out his camera with a tripod and setting the timer. 

“Alright everyone. Look strong!” The group soon got into some strong poses as the camera took the picture. The group looked at the photo with smiles. “POWER RANGERS!” Everyone exclaimed as the picture was taken.

Louis decides to leave his life of crime behind, and return to Cherryton Academy. But Ibuki won't let him leave so easily...! Can Louis reconcile with the Shishigumi? The last chapter before the murderer is publicly exposed is coming soon to BEASTARS: Converging Destinies!!

Chapter 49: Louis's New Family! A Deer And His Pride!

Chapter Text

Louis sat at the dinner table of the Shishigumi mansion, gazing down at his bowl of steak salad halfheartedly. He was feeling conflicted about his life at the current moment. Many confusing and clashing emotions were welling up within the deer, and it was souring his appetite. Ever since he had seen Legosi lying in a coma in the hospital, several weeks ago, leading the Shishigumi had felt… wrong. 

At the same time, he missed several aspects of his life at Cherryton. He missed classes, and seeing the students go about their business. Somehow, the deer had grown fond of his social interactions, even though he had never realized it. He especially missed the drama club, both the students there and leading it. He was in the spotlight constantly at the academy, the center of attention, and he hadn’t realized how much he enjoyed it before now.

He couldn’t help but wonder how the drama club was faring without his guidance. Hopefully they weren’t running around like chickens with their heads cut off. But most of all, he missed Legosi and Haru; Legosi more so than his former girlfriend. 

A scowl crossed his face as his head was filled with thoughts of that irritating gray wolf. He shirked his role and responsibilities as a carnivore, yet he had wisdom and compassion for all kinds of animals. Louis was never able to tell if he wanted to punch the massive canine in the face or lock lips with him and kiss him. “Boss? Are you feeling okay?” Agata asked worriedly, interrupting Louis’s train of thought.

The boss of the lion gang looked up and saw the concerned expression on all of his underlings’ faces. “I’m fine . Just have a lot to think about, that’s all," Louis growled, giving a withering glare to the felines which silenced them. 

Now that he was thinking about the Shishigumi, he began to reflect on the black market, and everything that he had done as the leader of the criminal organization. Louis knew that they would be securing alliances with the meat vendors, and they had been successful for the most part on that front. However, the cervidae hadn’t expected to get caught up in petty turf wars.

In his crusade to make the black market a safer place for carnivores and herbivores alike, the Shishigumi had encountered resistance in the form of other gangs and rebellious groups. They had gotten into skirmishes with the Okamigumi (the wolf gang), the Dokugumi (the reptile gang), the Inarigumi (a gang of female foxes), and the Madaragumi (a gang of leopards and jaguars). These altercations had never ended well for either side, with Louis having to take leadership and act fast. He had fired his gun and shot a few animals, though he always aimed for the limbs and deliberately avoided the chest and head area to avoid killing. Every single turf battle, the lions had managed to pull through victorious and without any casualties, but there had been several close calls. If Miguel hadn’t had medical training, some of the members could have gotten extremely sick. On multiple occasions, they had to do makeshift surgery and pull bullets out of some of the lions.

It really hurt Louis to see his allies and partners in crime nearly get killed for him, and it left a bad taste in his mouth, reminding him of the time when he nearly got jumped by a jaguar at Cherryton and might have been killed if Legosi hadn’t jumped in and stopped the feline, as well as when Alex had gotten shot chasing after the chief lion of the Shishigumi. He was sick of letting other animals that he cared about get hurt for him. During his time as the lions’ leader, he had developed close, family-like relationships with all of them. Now, if he wanted to keep them safe, maybe it was best to break those bonds. “I want to leave the Shishigumi," Louis suddenly announced.

The lions were shocked at this, and showed this in different ways. Some of them dropped the forks and knives they were holding, creating loud clanging as the metal hit the plate. Others gasped in surprise, and Hino in particular spat out his drink in shock. “The hell?! Why do you want to leave, Boss?! We’ve got an amazing thing going!” Dolph protested. 

Ibuki stared at his leader with a look of severe concern and worry on his face. “I’m starting to question everything… I’ve had a lot on my mind as of late," Louis began.

He stared off into the distance silently for a minute. “Oh yeah? Stuff like what?” Dope jeered.

Agata elbowed Dope in the neck. “Quiet! The boss is clearly collecting his thoughts for a great speech," Agata hissed. Louis took a deep breath and then continued. 

“You all know that Legosi got nearly beaten to death several weeks ago. He’s been over here several times, we’ve fought against him so that he’d become stronger and there wouldn't be a repeat of that incident. But… seeing him in that hospital bed, hooked up to a heart monitor…” Louis said, and his voice died out.

Tears began to form in his eyes as he remembered Legosi lying there, motionless. Ibuki put a paw on his shoulder reassuringly. “Seeing him half dead… I started questioning everything. Me eating meat, our crusade to make the black market a safer place for the city, and these stupid damn turf wars. What’s the whole point of these stupid petty fights for territory?! Honor?! Pride!? It’s idiotic! Nothing good ever comes out of the turf wars, it only ends up hurting animals," Louis growled, slamming his paws onto the table.

“But Boss--” One of the lions started to say, but Louis cut him off.

“NO! I almost lost two friends in the past few months, and I love both of them with all my heart. And in the time I’ve spent with you foolish felines, I’ve grown attached to you too. You guys have been like a family to me… if we continue fighting in these fucking turf wars, you could die. I know that I probably can’t stop you from getting into these skirmishes for dominance. It’s why I’m leaving. I’m not going to sit by and watch you dumbasses die for a stupid cause!” Louis yelled, standing up and running out of the dinner chamber.

The deer quickly ascended the stairs and reached the balcony of the former chief lion’s room. Louis shuddered as he felt the cool night breeze flutter against his fur. He felt Ibuki’s presence approach him from behind. The wisest and unofficial ‘dad’ of the Shishigumi leaned on the balcony’s railing, chewing on a cigarette. “I’ll be frank, boss. The Shishigumi’s changed. Ever since we’ve had you to protect, we carnivores have become a lot stronger than we used to. Please… keep being our boss. We don’t know what we’d do without you," Ibuki solemnly said. 

Louis stayed silent as he let the lion go on. “You’re stronger than any animal I know… to us lions, strength is simply a weapon. Whether I use it or hide it, it’s always a burden to my entire being. Before meeting you, it was a double-edged sword that hurt more than helped. You came along, and saw me differently than other animals… you surprised me then, and didn’t stop even once. Your strength makes the title ‘king of beasts’ seem like nothing more than an empty void," Ibuki continued.

Louis nodded, gesturing for Ibuki to keep talking. “It was a little stressful to work with you, but I was more comfortable than I’ve ever been in all thirty five years of my life. If you’re going to leave the Shishigumi after six months… you’ll have trouble getting your old life back," Ibuki finished.

Louis sighed sadly in response. “I want to go back… my old life needs me too," Louis sadly told him. 

“I can’t allow you to do that, Louis," Ibuki growled, before lunging at his former boss.

Louis began to grapple with Ibuki, struggling as he felt himself get closer and closer to the edge of the balcony. “Ibuki!? What are you doing!? We’re friends!” Louis cried out as he wrestled with him. Ibuki didn’t reply, only snarling. 

Suddenly, Louis felt something in his antlers. It was said that deer had the ability of precognition, the ability to see something moments before it occurred. A vision of Ibuki getting shot flashed across his eyes. “IBUKI! GET DOWN!” Louis screamed as he shoved the lion and tackled him to the ground.

As he and Ibuki tumbled and spun to the floor, Louis felt his antlers become severed as a bullet grazed the top of his forehead. The sound of the gunshot brought Ibuki back to his senses. “FREE!? WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING! YOU WERE SUPPOSED TO SHOOT ME, NOT THE BOSS!” Ibuki roared as he saw blood trickling down the sides of Louis’s head from the loss of his antlers.

“I would , but the kid somehow figured out what was happening," Free grunted. Agata came up with some bandages and began to wrap them around Louis’s head.

Louis was panting from the whole experience. He had just risked his life for Ibuki and now the Shishigumi were treating him with care. “Boss… I know you need to go back to your old life, but you have this new life too… maybe you shouldn’t leave your new life entirely behind, you know?” Agata advised.

The red deer pondered that for a minute. “Dad?” Louis asked.

Ibuki’s ears lifted and he glanced at Louis uncertainly. “Y-yes, boss?” Ibuki replied nervously.

“Can you drop me off at Cherryton tomorrow? And pick me up at seven?” Louis asked.

Free threw back his head and let out a hearty guffaw. “That’s perfect , Ibuki-sama! He can spend most of his day at that school of his, and he can live with us! Best of both worlds!” Free chortled.

Ibuki wrapped his arms around Louis protectively. “Of course, Louis. The Shishigumi just want you to keep being in our lives," Ibuki softly said.

Louis smiled and hugged Ibuki in return, allowing himself to shed a single tear in happiness. "I realize now that I want you to continue to be a part of my life too. All of you lions. You're my family now," Louis told them all.

After weeks of investigation, Alex has gathered enough evidence to prove that Riz is the killer! He confronts the bear in the lunchroom, and counts up his crimes! However, Riz seems unfazed...! The prelude to the final battle of this story unfolds next time, on BEASTARS: Converging Destinies!

Chapter 50: The Killer Exposed For All To See! The Corrupted And Twisted Bond He Holds Dear To His Heart!

Chapter Text

Alex woke up that morning with a sense of finality. It was time for him to enact his plan. While Legosi had been training to become stronger in all those different ways, Alex had been putting his investigative skills to work. He had been compiling all of the evidence and small details that he could use to confront Riz, and believed he had enough to confront the bear. 

From his surveillance of the ursine, Alex knew that Riz wasn’t exactly the brightest animal in the school. After getting a medical report from the Cherryton police station, Alex had discovered Riz was required to take strength-reduction medicine that had headaches and mood swings as a side effect, with rather dangerous withdrawal setbacks. 

From there, with a bit of imagination and knowledge of Riz’s relationship with his victim, it was easy to create a plausible scenario for how Tem was murdered. Animals had sung of how Tem was able to put a troubled heart at ease, how the alpaca was always willing to lend an ear to their problems; how they felt better after simply talking to him for a couple of minutes. Riz had probably grown so comfortable around Tem that he felt the alpaca could get him through avoiding his medication.

Several of the drama club members had mentioned that Riz was the last animal to have seen Tem alive, and they had been together in the auditorium on the night the crime took place. Alex theorized that the alpaca had seen Riz in his unstable condition, became frightened, accidentally got scratched, and then barricaded himself in the auditorium. However, once blood had been drawn, an animal in Riz’s mental state would turn violent and chase after the source of the red liquid’s scent. Forcibly throwing the doors open, Riz barreled into the auditorium, and that was the end of Tem.

Now the evidence. Riz was the last animal to see Tem alive; that was the most important piece. Then was the fact that the door had been burst open when Tem had barricaded himself in the auditorium- only a larger breed carnivore could have done that. Then there were the claw marks that Legosi’s attacker had inflicted upon him; they matched claw patterns typically seen among ursine type animals. The alibi Riz had given also didn’t match up; he claimed he had gone to bed early, but after speaking to his roommate, Alex had discovered that Riz had gotten back to his room at about eleven o’clock in the evening, about forty-five minutes after the attack on Legosi. That would have been enough time to wash any blood off of the bear’s fur. 

Finally, there was the arm incident with Kibi. Of all the carnivores in the drama club who had witnessed the event, Riz had been the only one of them to salivate at the sight of Kibi’s bleeding severed arm. Salivating at a situation like that was a sign of meat dependency. During his surveillance of Riz, Alex had noticed that the bear didn’t seem to enjoy his meals when they weren’t carnivore-based, even catching him darkly muttering “I wish I could taste this” once or twice. 

Alex knew that Legosi had been training to be able to take down the killer. It was truly remarkable how far he had come in the short span of six weeks. The gray wolf had gotten considerably more jacked and muscular since his training regimen had begun, and he was now able to hold his own in a fight against Alex, and several members of the Shishigumi. Louis was now back at school for most of the day, which had further bolstered the wolf’s morale and enthusiasm. 

It pained Alex what he was about to do. The gray wolf had a score to settle with Riz; the bear had nearly killed him, and had taken the life of his good friend Tem. But it was exactly why Alex was doing this. He couldn’t let Legosi risk losing to Riz again. If Legosi failed to defeat the murderer again… Alex was certain that Riz would silence Legosi permanently. 

This job required someone who was more experienced, someone who was more battle-hardened. Someone with years of combat experience on their side, and knew how to turn a fight to his favor. Someone who was ruthless and wouldn’t hold back. Someone like Alex. 

He had made a bet with Legosi over a game of cards late at night, and Legosi had lost. To make the bet even, Alex had dared Legosi to go on a lunch date with Judy… in his Green Ranger costume. Now that the gray wolf was occupied for the day, Alex took the opportunity to strike. 

The white wolf ran into the lunchroom, and asked Pina if he could livestream something. The Dall sheep had happily agreed after Alex told him that it would make him extremely popular among the school, both boys and girls. Alex confidently walked to the bear’s table, and he was wearing his White Ranger costume. He knew that wearing such a bizarre costume would attract the attention of animals, and he was counting on it. The more animals who witnessed this, the more likely they would try to call the Cherryton police district for help stopping the fight.

“RIZ URUMASHI!!!” Alex yelled out, his voice carrying throughout the exposed outside air of the campus. The bear was currently sitting alone, and he glanced up to see the costumed character advancing towards him. “I know what you’ve done!” Alex snarled into Riz’s face.

Riz looked at him and shrugged, before going back to his book. “Oh yeah? What have I done?” Riz nonchalantly asked. 

“I know that you murdered Tem, and nearly killed Legosi," Alex confidently responded, and the bear slammed his book shut before glaring at Alex.

“How do you know that?!” Riz growled; obviously Alex had struck a nerve.

“I knew for certain when I saw you salivate at the sight of Kibi’s severed arm. Only a predator who had eaten a piece of another animal while they were alive could have that expression on their face," Alex explained.

“Y-You don’t know anything about Tem!” Riz growled in response.

“I know that you were in love with him," Alex shot back, and Riz’s eyes widened as his expression became crestfallen.

“H-how did you… I never told anyone…” Riz gasped.

The white wolf continued to press forwards with his verbal onslaught, barraging the bear with the blunt truth. “From the way you talk about that alpaca, you obviously had feelings for him. Genuine feelings, not that predatory instincts disguised as love stuff that Gouhin spouted. You could have had it, Riz. You could have had a life with Tem. Gone on dates, went to the movies, shared a kiss, gotten married, and started a family. But you made one critical mistake," Alex answered.

Riz fell silent, words failing him as Alex kept going. "You forgot your medicine. You take those pills for a reason, and a damn good one at that! Without them, you’re a danger to yourself and everyone around you, whether they’re herbivore or carnivore! Predator and prey romance is a very risky road to go down, and I’m sorry to say you weren’t prepared for it, and Tem paid that price with his life!” Alex scolded.

“Shut up…” Riz softly said.

But Alex persisted, ignoring Riz’s plea to stop. “But it wasn’t enough to hurt Tem. You had to hurt his friend too! Legosi started asking questions, and even though he was nowhere close to even formulating a theory as to the killer’s identity, you had to make an example out of him! If I hadn’t shown up, he would probably have died, or still be in a coma! You nearly KILLED Legosi! Tem’s death may have been an accident on your part, but that incident with Legosi sure as hell wasn’t!” Alex shouted.

“I said SHUT UP!” Riz roared, blasting Alex’s helmet with his ursine breath.

“Tem is alive inside me! He and I have a special bond that can’t compare to any other carnivore and herbivore on this great earth!” Riz blurted out, tears streaming down his face.

Alex sighed, exasperated by Riz's insane remarks and beliefs. “Oh come on! Why do I always have to deal with the deranged crazier criminals!? Can’t there be one time where I manage to heroically talk someone down?!” Alex groaned as he got into a defensive position. 

“It’s over, Riz. Pina’s been livestreaming this whole conversation between us to the Cherryton school chatroom. And it will spread like wildfire. You won’t have any friends left by the end of the day. Your family will disown you for having committed the most severe sin should you go to them in the hopes of getting their help. No one is going to help you! Your life is over! You won’t be able to hide from the law!” Alex taunted. Pina ended the livestream and ran off. 

“Pina, that good-for-nothing shitfucking sheep. I’ll deal with him later. For now… Tem, I don’t think this costumed stranger can get away with speaking such blasphemy about our bond!” Riz snarled, spitting on the wolf’s helmet. “The name is Alex. Alex Moon! The predator pride of the Zootopia Police Department! Remember it well! For it is the name that will put you behind bars for the rest of your days!” Alex declared as he ran forwards to meet Riz in battle.

This is it! The final battle has began! But it's not going to be so simple! I can guarantee that you will be blown away by the next chapter of BEASTARS: Converging Destinies! 

Chapter 51: The Strength Of A Twisted Friendship!!!!

Chapter Text

BACKGROUND MUSIC

A considerable crowd of animals had gathered to watch the fight from a safe distance, and they watched in fear as Alex and Riz charged towards each other to begin their battle. Riz threw the first punch, with Alex anticipating the attack and dodging it. The wolf quickly retaliated with two kicks to the bear’s belly, causing Riz to stumble backwards. Seizing the initiative, Alex followed it up with two blows to Riz’s chest and stomach. “Hmph! So you might have some skills, but it doesn't matter. I’ll CRUSH you!” Riz roared. 

Riz growled as he swung his arm out, attempting to claw Alex. With lightning reflexes, Alex backflipped out of his enemy’s reach, and rolled under a second swipe as he headbutted the ursine’s knee, taking advantage of the White Ranger costume’s bulky helmet. Alex extended his own claws and raked them across Riz’s left legs, causing the larger carnivore to grunt from the slashes. 

Alex smirked as he darted around Riz and delivered a flurry of fists to the bear’s backside, peppering his spine and bones with punches. Riz whirled around and smacked Alex in the face, sending his White Ranger costume helmet flying off of him and causing him to stagger backwards. Alex quickly recovered, though, and blocked Riz’s next strike with his paws. 

Alex soon felt something trickling down his face realizing it was his blood from when Riz struck him. The blood trickled down his face, and Alex had to wipe it off before it got in his eyes. As Riz was about to strike with his other paw, Alex jumped back and narrowly got out of the ursine’s reach. “ Alex ?!” Haru’s voice rang out, causing Alex’s attention to get diverted for a second. The bear then seized this opportunity and rushed in while Alex was distracted, only to be countered by a punch to the jaw and a sweep to the legs. 

Riz quickly gets up as they try to push each other back, growling. Riz then let out a mad chuckle as he used all his strength to push the albino back further, while Alex was struggling due to the sheer raw power Riz was exerting. Listening to his instincts, Alex leapt into the air, performing a dropkick on the bear and pulling on his arms. “No matter what you do, it’s pointless! You cannot escape justice!” Alex snarled.

“Oh really? Why don’t you come closer and tell me that?” Riz cackled evilly as he pulled his opponent in for a bite, revealing his fangs. Alex was forced to break his hold on the ursine’s arms and rolled to the ground, but Riz took advantage of Alex’s close proximity to the ground and kicked the wolf in the stomach, causing Alex to grunt in pain. The bear then gave Alex a powerful punch to the face, causing Alex’s vision to blur as he got a black eye. 

“All right, no more messing around!” Alex cried out as he whipped out his taser, setting the voltage to ursine. Alex rolled and leapt back onto his feet as Riz charged towards him, with Alex firing the taser and the two prongs embedding themselves into the bear’s chest. He then pressed the trigger, sending a large amount of voltage surging into Riz’s body, causing him to roar in pain. 

The bear’s head arched back as he let out a terrifying shriek, pain assaulting his body as the electricity flowed into him. But more powerful than the pain was the sense of anger that was burning up inside Riz. He felt the strength rippling through his muscles, and he let out a powerful warcry as he grabbed the electric wiring that connected the taser prongs to the trigger, and ripped them out of his skin. With a single tug, the shocking weapon flew out of Alex’s paws and onto the ground. 

“I could turn your own weapon against you, watch you scream and contort in agony, but where’s the fun in that? That would make you pass out much too soon… Tem and I want to make you scream and suffer!” Riz giggled maniacally as he slammed his foot into the taser, smashing it into pieces and rendering it useless. 

As their battle continued, Alex was starting to show signs of the injuries that he had received. Although he was quick and able to outmaneuver most of Riz’s attacks, the bear made up for his lack of accuracy with sheer, unrestrained strength. Every punch or kick that Riz landed on Alex caused black spots to dance in Alex’s eyes, and Riz hadn’t even broken a sweat despite the multitude of hits the wolf had managed to score on the ursine. .

Alex jumped into the air, kicking Riz in the balls, but that was a huge mistake. He had acted on instinct, but it would do much more harm than good. Kicking a brown bear in the crotch like that would cause testosterone to flood through their body, making them stronger, faster, and even more dangerous. 

“Y-YOU! ONLY TEM COULD TOUCH ME DOWN THERE!” Riz shrieked angrily, shoving Alex to the ground. With furious speed, Riz picked Alex up by the leg, and slammed him face first into the dirt. Mercilessly and without respite, Riz then pummeled Alex relentlessly with his fists, stopping just short of his spine. Alex felt no broken bones, but he did have a sprained ankle where Riz had picked him up, and was too ridden with pain to move out of Riz’s range. 

Alex was then rolled over onto his back, causing him to let out an undignified whimper as he laid on his injured shoulders. Riz gripped Alex’s neck with one paw, causing Alex to begin choking and wheezing as he gasped for air. With the other paw, Riz traced the White Ranger emblem on the wolf’s costume. “I know exactly what your coup de grace should be. I’ll tear out your heart, and devour it right before your very eyes!” Riz laughed. The mask that the bear wore in public was gone, and now the monster was exposed for everyone to see. 

“Any last words…?” Riz smirked as he curled his paw into a fist, pulling it back in preparation for punching out Alex’s heart.

“You won’t… win… this changes… nothing, Riz! Don’t… you understand?” Alex groaned, inhaling as much air as he could with the bear’s iron grip around his neck. 

“Your secret… is public knowledge now. You’ll never escape… the paws of justice!” Alex snarled, spitting in Riz’s face as a final act of defiance. Memories began to flash across his eyes. Memories of Judy and Nick, his two lovers back in Zootopia… memories of Legosi, Jack, and the other canines at Room 701… memories of Louis and the drama club members, Sheila, Bill, Els, Tao, and Kibi… and of his adoptive family, his skunk sister Blossom and his adoptive mother Dr. Iris. 

“I’ll see you in hell, Riz.” Alex hissed as Riz pulled his fist back and was about to make the final blow. Suddenly, Riz yelped in pain as he felt a long rope strike his backside. The bear whirled around to see six other similarly costumed animals: a Red Ranger, Orange Ranger, Yellow Ranger, Blue Ranger, Purple Ranger, and Pink Ranger. 

Alex's friends band together to put a stop to Riz's madness! But where is the Green Ranger? And who are these animals identities under their costumes?! Find out next time, on BEASTARS: Converging Destinies!

Chapter 52: The Pack Protects Their Own!

Chapter Text

“Who the hell are you!?” Riz yelled as he threw Alex to the ground and snarled at the six costumed animals.

They all removed their helmets to reveal their faces and heads underneath. “I, Durham, am the Red Ranger!” The coyote said.

“Orange Ranger Collot reporting for duty!” Collot called out.

“The smallest and most ferocious! Yellow Ranger Voss is ready for action!” The fennec fox yipped.

“Blue Ranger Miguno, here for the fight!!” Miguno announced.

“Purple Ranger Jack!” The golden labrador cried out. 

“Wait! There are only six canines in your dorm, and I don’t smell Legosi! Who the hell is dressed up in pink?!” Riz growled in confusion.

The Pink Ranger took off her helmet and it was none other than… Haru! Riz shook his head before turning back to face Alex. “Whatever! I’ll deal with you later! Can’t you see that you’re interrupting something?” The bear snarled. 

In response, Haru struck the bear’s back once more with her whip. “That’s exactly why we’re interfering! You hurt our friend Legosi! And we won’t let you hurt Alex!” Haru cried out.

The bunny and five canines charged forwards, prepared to fight Riz.  Haru struck at Riz several times with her whip, every single lash leaving a burning sensation on the ursine’s fur and earning a roar of pain. Voss leapt onto the bear’s stomach and used his armored helmet head to repeatedly bash the bear’s belly over and over. “TAKE! THIS! YOU! BASTARD!” Voss yelled out in between headbutts.

However, Voss’s attacks were only serving to further anger the massive behemoth. Snarling, Riz plucked the tiny fennec fox off of him and tossed him into Haru, sending both of them to the ground in a daze. “Yellow Ranger going down!” Voss yelled right before he collided with Haru. 

“VOSS!!!” Collot yelled. The Orange Ranger rushed in and delivered a kick to Riz’s crotch, making him grunt in pain. The sheepdog quickly followed his kick up with an uppercut to Riz’s chin, before tackling the massive ursine and punching him in the face repeatedly.  Snarling, Riz retaliated with a blow of his own to the sheepdog’s face, and yanked on his wool-like fur.

Collot howled in pain as he felt his nose get bashed in, one of a canine’s sensitive spots. Riz shoved the sheepdog off of him, and judo flipped Collot into the ground. Collot writhed in agony as he clutched his wrist. He was lucky that it hadn’t been broken, or worse, torn off. 

Durham and Miguno charged at Riz, going at him from both sides. The Red Ranger coyote wrapped his arms around Riz’s neck, attempting to put their enemy in a headlock, while the blue-clad hyena barraged the bear with blows to the face and shoulders. “Come on, you bulky bitch! Go down already!” Durham yelled in frustration as the bear elbowed him in the side.

“Stupid mutts! Why did you have to interfere with my fight!? Alex isn’t even a real student! He’s just some lying, two faced cop who used you to get information!” Riz cried out angrily as he attempted to shake off the coyote. He jumped into the air, and while Durham was airborne, his grip slipped on the bear’s neck a little. Taking advantage of that brief moment of weakness, Riz pried Durham’s arms off of his neck and slammed him into the grass. 

Miguno let out an amused snort, before bursting into hysterical laughter typical of hyenas. “Dumbass! You really don’t know canines at all, do you?! And not even that! You don’t even know what friendship is! Sure, Alex may not be a real student, but the bonds and friendships that he formed with everyone at Cherryton Academy were all real!” Miguno chuckled. 

Riz then hit Miguno in the face with all his might, a sickening crack echoed through the air as Miguno felt something in his snout break. Without so much as a whimper, the Blue Ranger crumpled to the ground, blood oozing out of his nose. 

“Now, where was I? Oh yes! About to end this albino wolf’s pathetic life!” Riz sneered. He began to walk back towards Alex, but then he felt a small rock hit him in the back of his neck.

Annoyed, the bear whirled back around to see a golden labrador dressed in purple glaring at him. “Leave my friends alone, Riz!!” Jack yelled out. He grabbed a trash can lid and held it like it was a shield, before sprinting at the ursine behemoth.  Jack then brought his shield down on the carnivore, bashing and ramming the metal lid into the bear over and over.

“You hurt Legosi, and my pack! WHY!?” Jack barked angrily at Riz as he battered and bruised the killer up.

“Because… Legosi was asking… questions he had no business asking about!” Riz grunted as he grabbed Jack’s makeshift shield and tore it out of his hands, before plowing the trash can topper into Jack’s head. The sheer force of the blow sent Jack into unconsciousness, the labrador hitting the ground and not moving.

“Now, it’s time to finish you!” Riz gloated, walking back towards Alex, but a sudden roar stopped the advancing ursine in his tracks.

“YOU’LL DO NO SUCH THING!” A boy’s voice bellowed. Groaning in irritation, Riz began to swivel his head to see who yelled at him, only to get smacked in the face with a thrown book. He saw Bill, Els, Tao, and Kibi running towards him, with Bill dressed up in a strange school uniform and Els wearing a sailor costume. “As fellow members of the drama club, we will stop you!” Bill declared. The tiger, angora goat, black panther, and anteater charged forwards to fight their former friend.

Bill, Els, Tao, and Kibi enter the fray to try and stop Riz, or at the very least buy enough time for help to get there! Join us next time for the continuation of the climax of BEASTARS: Converging Destinies!!!

Chapter 53: The Drama Club Joins The Fight! 

Chapter Text

Chapter 53: The Drama Club Joins The Fight! 

BACKGROUND MUSIC: Rage Awakened (Kingdom Hearts 2.5 ReMIX)

Kibi was the first one to land a hit on Riz. The anteater barreled forwards, rolling underneath a claw swipe and punching Riz in the leg, careful not to hit his crotch as that would release another flood of testosterone to make Riz even more dangerous. Riz grunted in pain, shocked by how much strength the anteater’s blow carried. Most herbivores barely managed to make him wince when they punched him, but Kibi’s punch actually hurt a fair bit. “OW! How the hell is he so strong!?” Riz groaned as he jumped backwards and out of the anteater’s reach.

“Training! Muscle building!” Kibi cheered as he flexed his muscles.

He was considerably more toned and muscular than when he had lost his arm, and it showed. Bill snarled as he launched a surprise attack on the bear, his claws raking down Riz’s back. This caused Riz to roar in pain and swat at the tiger, but Bill backflipped out of reach. “You know, for an arrogant self-centered brat, you’re quite agile, stripes.” Riz growled as he turned to focus his attention on his former friend.

“Arrogant? Self centered?” Bill murmured, a little insulted by the bear’s words. Riz pulled his fist back and threw a punch at the feline, which Bill blocked with both of his paws holding Riz’s fist back. “You’re wrong, Riz! At least, you are NOW! I’ll admit that I wasn’t exactly the kindest animal back during the production of Adler. I made mistakes, and one big one that almost cost me my sanity. But I made up for that mistake! I swore off meat and I haven’t even considered it! Now, I’ve become a better animal.” Bill replied.

While he distracted the massive ursine, Els charged at him and rammed into his backside, causing Riz to scream as he felt the horns tear into his backside. “WHY, YOU STUPID GOAT!” Riz screeched as he kicked Bill to the ground and grabbed Els’s horns that were stuck in his flesh.

With a bit of effort, he pried the horns out of his body, and they were covered in blood. Lunging forwards, he grabbed Els by the horn and grinned maliciously at her. “I heard that your species prides itself on their horns… let’s see how much it takes to break them!” Riz cackled as he began to pull her horn to the side. A sickening CRACK echoed through the silence, and Els screamed as she felt her horn split in half. 

There was only one thought that ran through Els’s mind as she saw Riz hold the other half of her horn in his bloody paws: run . Her herbivore instincts kicked into overdrive and she bolted, whimpering and blindly fleeing the scene. “YOU BASTARD! YOU REALLY ARE A MONSTER!” Bill yowled as he shoved Riz from behind, and Tao ran forwards to meet Riz in battle, repeatedly hitting him over and over in the stomach. Each hit barely caused Riz to even flinch. It was like attacking a brick wall.

Riz kicked backwards, his foot colliding with Bill’s crotch and sending the tiger sprawling to the ground. Tao, however, kept on persevering in the face of danger, and continued to attack Riz. He kept punching the bear wherever he could land a blow, and swiftly dodged his opponent’s strikes and swipes. “GO, TAO! I KNOW YOU CAN DO IT!” Kibi cheered for his lover.

Tao smiled in response. “I got ya, Keebs! When this is over, let’s go and get some ant shakes!” Tao chuckled as he punched Riz in the jaw, the ursine’s eyes widening as he felt the painful impact of Tao’s paw smashing into his nose. 

Staggering backwards, Riz growled, confused and angered by the display of affection between the anteater and panther. “No, no, NO! HOW IS THIS POSSIBLE! HOW DOES HE LOVE YOU!? HE’S SUPPOSED TO HATE YOU!” Riz shrieked in frustration. He rushed forwards and grabbed Tao by the shoulders, his huge paws holding the feline’s arms in place. “You RIPPED Kibi’s arm off of him! He should hate you, loathe you, despise your very existence!!!” Riz roared, Tao getting blasted in the face by his awful bear breath, which reeked of meat.

“Oh yeah?! Well at least when I ripped Kibi’s arm off I didn’t DROOL AT THE MOUTH LIKE A DEPRAVED MONSTER!!!!” Tao shot back.

“YOU’RE THE MONSTER! YOU TORE YOUR FRIEND’S ARM OFF!” Riz argued.

“It got reattached, and he forgave me! The REAL monster is YOU, Riz! You eat meat on a regular basis, I can see it in your eyes and smell it in your breath! Not to mention that you ATE YOUR BEST FRIEND!!!" Tao snarled defiantly. 

In response, Riz broke into maniacal laughter. “Tem ASKED me to! He let me willingly devour him! It was how he and I became one! And now, I shall deliver poetic justice to you! You robbed Kibi of his arm… so now, I’ll do the same to you!!!” Riz giggled. Tao’s eyes widened in horror as he felt Riz tugging on his arm, the bear leering and grinning sadistically at him as Tao began to squirm from the pain that was developing in his arm and shoulder. 

Riz slowly increased the level of effort he was putting into it, pulling harder and harder on Tao. This in turn caused Tao to squirm more and more as his arm grew more painful. Then, when Tao felt that he was about to explode, he felt something tear, and he howled in agony and terror as he saw his arm was now separated from his body, and the severed limb was in Riz’s paws. 

Tao could only watch in horror as Riz licked his lips and began to chew on Tao’s arm. The sight was nauseating and made Tao want to throw up. As Riz bit into the flesh, he growled in glee as the flavor of meat hit his taste buds, and he began to consume the arm with increased ferocity and depravity. When Riz was finished, he no longer felt tired or worn down from the fighting he had just gone through. His wounds closed and he felt renewed with energy and vigor. Letting out a maniacal laugh, Riz began to focus his sights on Alex, until an enraged howl gave the bear pause. 

“THAT’S ENOUGH, RIZ! YOU’VE GONE TOO FAR!” A familiar voice cried out in anguish and anger. The gray wolf leapt into view of everyone, earning a cheer from all of them. “LEGOSI!!!” They all exclaimed happily.

Legosi is finally on the scene, and he's here to kick some bear bitch butt! Don't miss the conclusion of BEASTARS: Converging Destinies!!!

Chapter 54: Legosi VS Riz! The Fated Conclusion!

Chapter Text

BACKGROUND MUSIC

The gray wolf scanned the room, horrified by what he was seeing. Tao moaning on the ground clutching his bleeding stump… Els with one of her horns broken in half… Haru and his pack mates all on the ground unconscious, and Alex’s head lying in a puddle of blood. “Riz! WHAT HAVE YOU DONE!” Legosi yelled. 

“Your friend Alex tried to arrest me. And he spoke such blasphemous, horrible and slanderous lies about me and Tem… so I had to punish him. I wanted to make an example out of him, but unfortunately, his friends kept getting in my way. I assume you’re going to interfere as well?” Riz growled. 

Legosi’s eyes were blazing disks of anger. “I’m going to do much worse than that! I’ll… I’ll!!” Legosi yelled out, so furious that he couldn’t finish his sentence.

Riz smirked in response. “You’re going to what, Legosi? Kill me?” The bear laughed, spitting in Legosi’s face.

Legosi bared his fangs at the bear in response. “WHEN I’M THROUGH WITH YOU, YOU’RE GOING TO WISH YOU WERE DEAD!” The canine screamed. 

“AHAHAHAHAHA! You think you can stand up to me now! Last time, I wiped the floor with you! How is this going to be any different than before?” Riz cackled, finding the idea of Legosi trying to fight him again hysterical.

Legosi darkly grinned in response, and tore off his long sleeved shirt. His stomach and arms glittered brightly in the sunlight, blinding Riz for a few moments. A dark cloud began to block out the sunlight, and the glitter died down, revealing that Legosi’s arms and stomach were covered in emerald green scales. “Haha! This is awesome! I didn’t think you were one of those hybrid freaks, but looks like you kept it well hidden! This is going to be fun! I’ve never eaten a hybrid before!” Riz gleefully giggled.

“You’re not going to eat anyone, you monster! I’m not going to let you hurt anyone else, ever again!” Legosi yelled as he suddenly sprinted forwards and decked Riz in the jaw.

Riz roared and retaliated with a heavy swing, but Legosi quickly ducked underneath the attack and shoved Riz in the stomach. Seizing the opportunity, Legosi leapt into the air and jumped onto Riz’s stomach, causing the bear to groan in pain as he felt the heavy weight of his adversary pressing down on his stomach. Growling in irritation, Riz’s leg sprang upwards and dug its claws into Legosi’s leg, causing the wolf to stumble and fall off of Riz.

Riz pushed himself off of the ground and got back on his feet, but by then Legosi was out of reach again. The gray wolf struck again, lunging forwards and wrapping his paws tightly around Riz’s paw as it pulled backwards and balled up into a fist. “Let go!” Riz snarled as he used his free paw to punch Legosi in the stomach, hitting Legosi in the scales. However, the punch seemed to harmlessly bounce off of his scales, and barely inflicted any pain on Legosi. 

Riz was a little panicked, and he punched Legosi over and over again in the stomach in hopes of making the wolf loosen his grip on his paw. It was starting to become extremely painful, and Riz let out an astonished and horrified cry as he felt and heard the sickening crunch of bones. Legosi had broken his left paw’s bones! “MY PAW! YOU BROKE MY PAW!!!!” Riz screamed in agony as Legosi let go of the now mangled and useless appendage.

“That was for my pack mates!!! You think that’s the only thing I’m going to break?! NO! We’re just getting started!” Legosi snarled as he slammed his fist into the broken paw, shattering the bones inside of it beyond the point of repair. Not even the most skilled surgeon would be able to give Riz the ability to move his left paw again. While Riz was still reeling from the pain of his destroyed hand, Legosi slammed his butt down on Riz’s right foot, the full weight of the wolf quickly fracturing the bones down there. 

“AAAAGH! MY FOOT!!!” Riz yelled out as he felt pain surge through him every time he tried to move around. This made things a lot more difficult for him to move around with. The adrenaline boost he had gained from eating Tao’s arm was quickly subsiding, and he wouldn’t be able to keep fighting for much longer. 

Legosi quickly darted behind Riz and shoved him hard, causing the big brown bear to topple over and fall flat on his stomach. Jumping into the air, Legosi landed on Riz, essentially pinning the bear underneath him. Raising one foot, Legosi slammed it down on Riz’s remaining paw, tearing the bones and splintering them. 

“Aaaagh! S-stop, Legosi! You’ve made your point! I’m powerless now, I can’t punch you, and you’re too heavy for me to lift off of me with my ruined hands…” Riz whimpered as he squirmed around helplessly on the ground. Legosi’s eyes narrowed, and he bent his head over so that he could look Riz directly in the eyes. 

What Riz saw truly shook him to his very core. There were no signs of the kind and friendly wolf that he and Tem knew from drama club. There was only hate and rage within Legosi’s gaze, and pure malicious intent. “F-fine! Kill me and get this over with, please…” Riz whimpered in fear. 

Legosi’s expression saddened, and Riz could swear there was a bit of regret in the massive canine’s eyes. “I’m not going to kill you, Riz. That would make me even worse than you. I’d be killing you out of revenge, not out of hunger and lust like you did with Tem. But I can’t let you get away with hurting the animals that I love. I’m making sure that you will never hurt ANYONE, EVER AGAIN!!!” Legosi growled as he then sat on Riz’s foot paw, causing Riz to cry out in pain as he felt his last paw get crushed and rendered utterly useless. 

Legosi then stood up and got off of Riz, walking over and squatting down to Riz’s eye level. “Gouhin, the doctor of the black market, taught me some things as well. Such as how to make sure that hungry monsters like you never even dream of eating meat," Legosi darkly said as he pried open Riz’s muzzle forcefully, reaching a paw in and pulling on one of Riz’s fangs. “MMMPH! MMPH MMPH!!!” Riz grunted as he felt Legosi pulling his fang, and he started sobbing when he felt the tooth forcibly detach from his jaw. 

Quickly, Legosi repeated this another three times, one additional time for each remaining fang. Riz’s mouth was a bloody mess, and he was in so much pain that he felt he would black out at any second. “Have fun in prison," Legosi grunted as he wiped his bloody paws on the ground, careful not to get any of Riz’s blood on his Green Ranger costume.

Judy and several other cops arrived after a few more minutes. Lem handcuffed Riz and read him his rights before he was hauled away, several officers having to lift him onto a stretcher due to his broken hands and legs. A tap on Legosi’s shoulder caused him to turn and see Alex grinning at him. “You did a good job, kid," Alex proudly said. Everyone else was awake too, except for Tao, who had been taken by Kibi to the infirmary. 

An announcement soon came over the intercoms, with Principal Gon telling everyone that school was cancelled for the day. “What do you say we blow this popsicle stand and go have some lunch, everyone? You all deserve it. A celebratory feast for the Beastar Crusaders, since you basically saved my life," Alex offered. “YEAH!!!!” Everyone cheered excitedly.

Chapter Text

Several months later…

Animals of all species, shapes, and sizes were gathered in the school grounds, on the outside parts of the campus, for the graduation ceremony at Cherryton. This graduation ceremony was very special, as they were going to name a new Beastar, and there had been talks of a sophomore skipping the junior and senior grades. 

The students had just finished their graduation walk and were gathered in the grassy area as well. Principal Gon was finishing up his speech. “And now, it is my great honor to introduce you to… Alex Moon!” The older tiger announced. The white wolf in question jumped up and ran to the podium, grinning as he did so. 

“Greetings, students and parents of Cherryton Academy! You may be wondering why I’m not sitting with the other students, even though I’m supposed to be attending this fine school. Well, the truth is, I’m not actually a student here! In fact, I’m much older than most of the students here!” Alex chuckled. Several parents gasped, as well as some of the students who hadn’t heard about Alex’s identity being exposed. 

“Yup, you heard me right. I am not a real student. I’m actually a police officer from Zootopia, and I was undercover here as a student. Originally, my assignment was to investigate the Black Market here, and gauge the situation. However, my priorities quickly shifted about a week after I arrived," Alex continued. 

Everyone fell silent as they knew exactly what Alex was referring to. “A week into my enrollment here, something terribly tragic happened. One of the students, an alpaca named Tem, was devoured by a carnivore. I put the black market investigation on pause and immediately started to search for the murderer. Here in Cherryton, a predation incident may not be too uncommon, but the city of Zootopia? Predation is practically nonexistent. We have no Black Market to sell illegal meat, mainly because we actually have meat available due to the cloning technology the city has developed," Alex explained. 

The animals continued to be silent as they thought about what Cherryton would be like without a black market. “The early days of my snooping around this school were quite exciting. I won’t go into detail, but I met quite a few interesting animals. Most notable were Legosi the gray wolf, Haru the white dwarf rabbit, and Louis the red deer. I consider these three animals to be my most closest friends in Cherryton," Alex solemnly said. He made sure to omit the parts about Legosi accidentally finding a Night Howler, as well as the bits about Mizuchi.

In the audience, he couldn’t help but notice that Legosi, Louis, and Haru seemed to puff up their chests in pride at being called out by Alex. Haru was riding on top of Legosi’s head. “I joined the drama club, and things quickly picked up from there. Louis injured himself during an evening practice session with Tem’s replacement actor Zoe. I even had to give Louis painkillers so he could perform to the best of his ability, and damn , did he perform! If we were in the auditorium I’d pull up some of his best clips from the performance, but alas, we’re outside, so I can’t do that," Alex chuckled. 

Louis’s eyes shone as he heard Alex praising him. He had no idea that the white wolf officer had held a herbivore like him in such high regard! “Louis performed bravely, pushing through his pain and not showing any signs of weakness until the curtain fell down. After that, we rushed him to the infirmary, and I gave him some medicines that would speed up his recovery. However, Louis was not the only one who had problems that evening. Bill also fell ill, and was taken out of commission. And the lead female actress Ellen also became unavailable. That meant that all three of the lead performers of Adler were in need of replacement!” Alex exclaimed. 

Several of the parents in the crowd gasped, not knowing the second night of the performance had such a troubled history. “Now, any normal animal would have freaked out and canceled the performance. I know I would have been tempted to if I were in Louis’s position. But Louis? No, he didn’t even consider the idea of cancelling the show. He pulled out all the stops- made me the antagonist of the show, made Legosi, who I might add was the most quiet and introverted animal in the club at the time, the lead of the show, and for the female actor? He made little miss Haru here the female lead, and she wasn’t even in the drama club!” Alex laughed, pointing to each of the three as he talked about them. 

“Under ordinary circumstances most creatures would expect the performance to be a total catastrophic failure. Even I, who had faith in Louis and his decisions, was a little unsure how it would turn out. Well, many of you in the crowd were there at the second night’s performance. You personally witnessed the three of us knock it out of the ball park! The show was a huge success, and things calmed down for a while," Alex said. 

Alex paused, taking a drink of water before continuing. “Over the course of the next few weeks, Legosi and Haru began to develop a romantic relationship with each other. Now, I know what some of you are about to say. Interspecies love is dangerous, yada yada yada. Thankfully they had me to help them work through it. I’m kind of an expert on interspecies relationships- Judy Hopps, the famous bunny cop from Zootopia? She’s actually my girlfriend," Alex then revealed, earning several shocked looks from the crowd. 

“However, the happiness would not last forever. For on the day of the Meteor Festival, Haru was taken by the Shishigumi! These two brave young men, Legosi and Louis, came to me, and together we mounted a rescue to save her! They headed to a hotel for the night, and everyone, EVERYONE assumed that they slept with each other. Which is a COMPLETE AND UTTER LIE! I know this because I was holed up in the room right next to them!” Alex yelled.

“Alex!!!” Legosi whimpered in embarrassment, and Louis and Haru laughed. Louis giggled as he scratched Legosi underneath his chin affectionately, and even planted a quick kiss on the gray wolf’s cheek.

“The weeks after the Meteor Festival were relatively quiet. The investigation was progressing smoothly, and the list of suspects was getting narrowed down. But then SOMEONE--” Alex pointed his claw at Legosi and changed his tone of voice to a scolding type, “--decided to open his mouth and act all suspicious and inquisitive in the drama club. That ended up nearly costing Legosi his life, for he got attacked by Riz the evening that he asked those questions," Alex said.

“Thankfully, Legosi recovered from his injuries, and embraced himself for who he was. I discovered Riz’s identity, and tried to arrest him. However, he overpowered me, and I was sure that he would kill me. But a small group of brave students banded together to fight Riz, and although they were injured, they bought enough time for Legosi to arrive and stop that murderer from hurting anyone else. I am proud to call all of them my friends," Alex happily said. His tail began to wag, and he looked out at the crowd, beaming at each and every one of the animals who had chipped in to protect him.

“Jack! Collot! Miguno! Durham! Voss! Haru! Bill! Els! Tao! Kibi! And Legosi! All of you, come to the stage right now!” Alex hollered out. They all came up to the stage and stood in front of Alex. The white wolf grinned as he took several medals out and placed them on the animals’ necks. “These medals are Zootopian medals of honor, awarded to those who perform great acts of heroism when the time called for it. You all courageously took a stand and protected my life. That is the mark of a hero. Now, if I could, I’d name all of you Beastars here and now, but unfortunately that’s not how things work," Alex chuckled. 

Tao puffed up his chest with pride, his prosthetic metal arm glinting in the sunlight as he and the others accepted the medals, and they all started to go back to their seats before Alex stopped them. “Hey! Just because not all of you are getting the award of Beastars doesn’t mean that you’re getting any other awards!” Alex laughed, and they turned around and got back on stage. “I managed to pull some strings, and all of you certainly had the grades for it; I just helped guarantee it. All of you are getting paid scholarships to Zootopia University!” Alex cheered. An older female skunk, Alex’s sister Blossom, wearing a graduation hat and robe, presented all of them with scholarship certificates to Zootopia University. 

“All of you may now take a seat for the next portion of my speech," Alex then announced. Jack, Collot, Miguno, Durham, Voss, Haru, Bill, Els, Tao, Kibi, and Legosi nodded their heads and went back to their spots in the crowd. “It is time to crown the next Beastars. This is a great honor, virtually unparalleled by any other role in this society. Those who are named Beastar stand out in society because of their special ability to unite both predator and prey animals together despite their differences. They are the beacons of hope and inspiration that transcend discrimination! The animals that strive to make the world a better place for everyone, no matter who or what they are!” Alex cried out, and his voice was full of passion as he said this. 

“This year, the All-Organism Council decreed that they would name whoever caught Tem’s murderer the Beastar. However, after a bit of persuasion and reasoning, they decided that they would name MULTIPLE Beastars from Cherryton, due to a lack of proper candidates from the other schools in the council!” Alex declared. The crowd gasped at this. 

“That’s right folks! Cherryton is naming not one, not two, but THREE Beastars this year! LEGOSI! Come on up to the stage!” Alex called out. Blushing, the gray wolf slowly stood up, lifted Haru off of his head and set her on the ground, and then walked up to the podium and looked directly into Alex’s eyes. 

“Legosi. You have been an amazing friend to me. You’ve helped me regain faith in the world, and you bring light into every life that you touch. You are like me; you look past the flesh and fur of an animal, seeing only the soul underneath; it might make you a little socially awkward, but trust me, it is a blessing," Alex told Legosi. The gray wolf chuckled nervously and shifted around. 

“For outstanding heroism and bravery, as well as the unrelenting spirit that many animals in this school have rallied behind you, I now name you… BEASTAR . You are the first hybrid student to ever be named Beastar. Take this honor with pride, and go out into the world!” Alex solemnly said. The whole crowd burst into applause and cheering.

“THAT’S MY GRANDSON!!” Gosha yelled out happily. “LE-GO-SI! LE-GO-SI!” The drama club whooped. 

“You should probably say a few words too," Alex whispered as he hugged Legosi. The new Beastar gulped, stood up at the podium, cleared his throat, and took a deep breath to collect his thoughts before beginning to speak.

“Thank you guys, really…I’m gonna be honest, this is very overwhelming, but really thank you. Y’know, this now makes me think back to when I was just some simplistic zombie. I was just kinda on my own a lot, didn’t wanna get in people’s way… but I guess you could say there was somewhat of a change. I wasn’t even that social with my dorm mates..," Legosi began reminiscing as some laughter was heard.

“Then things started to change. Alex joined our dorm, Tem died, and then the two of us started to bond. Because of Alex, I started to put myself out there, and be less timid and shy. And now, look at me. I have a lot of close friends, and I even have a boyfriend and a girlfriend," Legosi smiled as he looked at Louis and Haru. The gray wolf bowed before walking off stage. Alex soon went back to the podium.

“Thank you, Legosi, for that wonderful speech. As far as our second one, I will say, there was some intensity, but I’m glad to see some growth in this individual. And that individual...LOUIS! Come on up here!” Alex yelled. Louis made his way over to the stage as the crowd applauded.

“Louis, my friend. It is with great pleasure that I offer you this role of Beastar. You have always had a prominent presence in Cherryton Academy, even when you took two months of leave off. Let me be honest; people were starting to think you had been eaten in the Black Market, though I kept telling them otherwise," Alex spoke.

This earned several chuckles from some of the crowd, mainly the ones who knew that Louis was alive the whole time. This included Oguma, Ibuki, Agata, the Shishigumi, Bill, Haru, and Legosi. “Now, it is time for me to reveal to all of you the truth about Louis’s whereabouts. The ‘official’ story is that he had been attacked by a group in the black market and had to be hospitalized. Well, the thing is… he was living with those lions the whole time. And he still lives with them. They are a rowdy and rambunctious group of felines none other than… the Shishigumi!!” Alex revealed.

Several horrified shrieks were heard as several herbivores scooted away from the group of lions, except for Oguma, who was holding hands with Ibuki. “While you were turning an ignorant and blind eye to the darkness of the city, the black market, Louis was thriving in it! While Legosi lived in the light and never had meat grace the tip of his lips, Louis ate it on practically a daily basis! He saw a group of criminals, and a section of the town which was dangerous to both herbivores and carnivores, and decided that it would not hurt any more innocents! Louis became the new leader of the Shishigumi and made the Black Market safer, cleaner, and a better place!” Alex ranted, really getting into it now. 

“Louis brought LIGHT to the darkest parts of Cherryton! No longer will young, vulnerable students of this academy become lustful meat addicts! No longer will random passerby get shot and torn to shreds! Louis took the truly evil criminals that dwelled there and with the help of the Shishigumi, put them behind bars! In the span of months, he’s done what the Cherryton police force couldn’t do for decades: made the Cherryton Black Market a better place. I know that many herbivores will disagree with me for what I’m about to say, but it’s the truth. Most carnivores need meat," Alex passionately exclaimed. 

The crowd fell silent as they digested Alex’s words. “Now, let me preface this by stating that I have not eaten meat in over a decade and a half. I only did it once as a child, and it was a life or death situation. But yes, once a carnivore has had their first exposure, it can become a crippling addiction. Some of them don’t have the mental strength, will, and fortitude to quit. So they continue to eat meat. I’m telling you though, that it should not be considered a crime! If they aren’t hurting anyone, they should be allowed to eat it. Now, I’d like Ibuki, the leader of the Shishigumi, and Oguma, the head of the Horns Conglomerate, to come up to the podium and say a few words," Alex added. 

The CEO deer and the ex-mafia gang leader climbed up the stairs and stood up at the podium, their hands never letting go of each other. “You first, ‘Buki," Oguma whispered in the lion’s ear. The glasses-wearing lion nodded his head before clearing his throat and speaking into the microphone.

“Meat!” Ibuki shouted out, drawing the attention of any carnivores who may not have been focused on the lion. If they hadn’t been paying attention before, they would be now. All of the crowd’s eyes were locked on Ibuki, and their ears were anxious to hear what the Shishigumi’s leader had to say on the subject. 

“It is both a blessing, and a curse. That first bite of that juicy, succulent forbidden food… as Alex once told me, it is like the fruit from the Garden of Eden," Ibuki stated. Several of the predators in the audience nodded their heads in agreement, knowing just how delicious their first taste was. 

“After that first time, eating too little will give them withdrawal, and eating too much will make them a danger to themselves and to everyone around them. However! In moderation, it is perfectly safe! Many people assume that the animals who live in the black market eat meat for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and dessert. While I’ll admit that’s true for a small few of the residents there, I can assure you that it is not true for the majority of us carnivores! We space it out. Once, twice, or thrice a week, we eat meat. Sometimes for dessert, or for a well deserved treat after a long day of work," Ibuki announced.

“That’s why my company, the Horns Conglomerate, has partnered with Iris Corporation to provide this city with the same experimental cloning technology that Zootopia uses to fulfill the needs of their carnivore population. That will be all from me and my new mate, thank you for listening," Oguma cut in with his announcement. The deer grabbed Ibuki by his tie and yanked him down from the podium, giving the Shishigumi leader a quick peck on the cheek. 

“Aww, why’d you cut my speech short? I had a lot more to say!” Ibuki whined as he walked with Oguma back to his seat with the Shishigumi. “Because if I didn’t stop you, you would have been up there for the next half hour yammering about your favorite food. You know that I’m a very busy buck, Ibuki. Besides, don’t you remember that I’ve scheduled some ‘playtime’ after this ceremony?” Oguma chuckled as he sat back down with the Shishigumi. “He’s got a point, boss!” Agata teased. Ibuki’s cheeks went bright red from Agata’s remark. 

“Anyways, take it away, Louis!” Alex blurted out, attempting to steer things back on course, and the deer stepped up to the mike. “Thank you everyone. It is definitely an honor to become a Beastar. I will say, I really didn’t think it’d end this way, especially after working in the dark so much, while Legosi worked in the light. It was quite a rough ride especially with what happened after I left Cherryton…” Louis slowly said. 

“But the Shishigumi took me in, treated me as one of their own. We laughed together, cried together, ate together, and we became a family. More so than Oguma had ever treated me. I saved Ibuki’s life once, and that was when I returned to school. However, I still lived with the Shishigumi. Oguma came to see me one night, met Ibuki… and things have never been better. I now have two dads, and a whole lot of brothers," Louis chuckled.

“At first, I didn’t want to be a Beastar. But now that I am one… I’m happy. Especially considering the fact that my wonderful boyfriend is a Beastar with me! Thank you everyone, and I hope you all continue to shine bright!” Louis grinned as he said this, locking eyes with Legosi and nodding. 

Louis walked off the podium, and Alex went back into the spotlight. “Now, we have our third and final Beastar to be named. This may seem strange, but this one is for outstanding academics. This award goes to none other than… Haru!” Alex announced. Gasping, the white dwarf rabbit began to walk up to the stage, but then she was interrupted. “OH HELL NO! There is no way in hell that fucking whore is getting named Beastar! There has to be some kind of mistake!!” A girl’s voice shrieked. 

A young harlequin rabbit stomped onto the auditorium stage. “Mizuchi!” Alex hissed. The bully glared at him and suddenly delivered a swift punch to the white wolf’s crotch, causing him to stumble backwards. “This is preposterous! The good name of Beastar will not be sullied by a slut!” Mizuchi screamed into the microphone. “HEY! What gives you the right to call her such slanderous names!?” Ibuki growled, glaring at the harlequin rabbit. 

“Oh, the mafia boss is telling me not to call people names? Well, guess what!? I have evidence! Signatures of several males who admit that they’ve slept with this rabbit! A sexual predator like her would be a disgrace to the honorable role of Beastar!” Mizuchi exclaimed. “What if she was chosen to be Beastar because of that!?” Kibi piped up in the audience, and everyone turned their heads to look at the anteater. “What?! I mean, it’s a possibility! A Beastar needs good social skills, and Haru obviously possesses them!” Kibi innocently pointed out. 

“Damn right I do! I have social skills!” Haru confidently said as she puffed her chest up in pride and tried to get up to the podium. “And Mizuchi, if I was a ‘sexual predator’, then surely I would have been outed as one? Every single one of those boys came to ME and consented. I never did it with ANYONE that didn’t want it," Haru sneered, shooting a withering gaze at the endangered lagomorph. 

Mizuchi huffed before being dragged offstage by Alex. “I’d like to thank everyone here! All the boys I slept with, you were good, but you weren’t what I was looking for in a relationship. The two other Beastars? They’re my boyfriends. And before I get any remarks! Polygamous relationships are common among rabbits!” Haru said.

“But anyways. I’ve become much stronger thanks to the bonds that I’ve formed during my senior year here. I didn’t make many friends before, I just was quiet and kept to myself. A lot like that silly gray wolf over there!” Haru chuckled, pointing at Legosi. In response, the canine Beastar blushed, smiled, and wagged his tail.

“Thank you Haru, but I believe it’s now it’s time to finish the ceremony," Principal Gon spoke, and many of the animals in the crowd breathed a sigh of relief as they now knew that it would be over soon. 

Alex cleared his throat before speaking again. “When I look out at the freshmen, sophomore, and junior students who didn’t graduate this year, do you know what I see? Potential . Unbridled, brimming potential," Alex said.

“And much like these three Beastars, I know the lot of you can have what it takes to put that potential to great use. For you and for everyone around you, friends, loved ones, and many more. Whatever dream you may have in life, whatever determination you carry, no matter the pain or suffering, never give up. Keep showing your potential and make a difference much like these three have done," Legosi, Haru, and Louis smiled and held each other’s hands. 

“Every one of us has a story to tell. It may not seem important, but it truly is important to the lives of everyone around you. Be the hero of your own story. Try to make the world a better place. Become someone that others can look up to! You already are well on your way to doing that. Put forward a little bit of light into the lives of your friends and family," Alex passionately spoke, moving his paws around animatedly. 

“And above all else, believe in yourself. For we are ALL BEASTARS!"