Mary POV:

"Then what happened?" Asked Sarah.

"Then Pina said that it's impossible for Carnivores to feel beautiful." Susan finished explaining what happened.

Bianca muttered, "What is wrong with him?"

Susan shrugged.

"I'm not sure." Jacob spoke up, "But he shouldn't be saying that in front of carnivores. Or he'll get his ass kicked if not careful."

"He also spoke weirdly." Lucy added, "Like near your ear and in a lustful tone."

Mason leaned over to Hector and whispered in his ear, "Oh... carnivores..."

Hector dipped his fingers in his drinking glass and flicked some water at Mason which flinched away.

Just then, like if fate was listening, I look over to see Pina enter the cafeteria.

"If you wanna see him. He's over there." I motioned towards Pina.

Everyone turned to look at him as he passed a group of fangirls. He gave them a wink and they cheered for it.

"I'm not impressed." Said Bianca.

Maddie looks over at me, "He is strange."

We just shrugged and continued eating dinner.

Hector looks up from his tray, "I wonder if they allow students to cook or bake something?"

"Actually, yes." Susan replied, "On top of every dorm building, besides a hangout space, there's a small kitchen. Students can cook up there and must clean it after use."

"Sweet. We should bake some things." Sarah quickly responded in excitement.

"Yeah, Lucy has been asking to make some cookies for a while."

Lucy nodded. "I have been asking Susan if we can do something like pumpkin bread or cinnamon rolls."

"That sounds good." Hector leans back in his chair, "I should make pan de muerto for Día de los Muertos."

"I forgot Día de los Muertos is right after Halloween." Said Hannah. "Are you gonna build another altar?"

Hector nodded.

We all began making plans on what to bake throughout the rest of dinner. After finishing, we returned to our dorms to do homework.

"I'm happy that we start production tomorrow." Said Lucy.

"Me too. We have something to do." I looked over at her.

We returned to the dorms and waved to the boys goodnight.

"Has principal Gon responded yet?" Asked Sarah as we entered our dorm building.

"Not yet." Replied Susan, "But hopefully soon."

After walking up the stairs and entering our room. I felt my phone vibrate. Looking down after pulling it out, I saw it was a text from Legoshi.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

3rd POV: 15 minutes earlier

On top of the school, where the only pool is located. The boys of the drama club gathered near the metal fence.

"Thank you all for coming." Said Bill as he opens a can of green tea and sips it.

Legoshi sat down against the fence as he looked at all of them.

"I'm still irritated at that goat."

"Pina is a sheep." Aoba corrected.

Bill, filled with rage towards Pina, crushed the green tea can with his hand. "That arrogant goddam goat. I want to boil him, crush him, and eat him whole!"

Legoshi wasn't amused by Bill's anger, "Rooftop or not, next time you say something like that I'm leaving."

Bill calmed down and turned back around. "But you still decided to show up for one of our carnivore gatherings for once, huh?" He raised an eyebrow, "You've got something you've been bottling up too, don't you?"

Tao turned to the others as Legoshi had his hand on his nose, seeing that he's having trouble breathing through his nose due to it being stuffed up, "Well, it's not hard to guess why Legoshi's here. He thinks one of us ate Tem."

"Right," Riz agreed, "he mentioned it in the changing room."

"Gotta say you hurt me a bit there." Tao finished as all of them looked at Legoshi.

"I, uh... I-I'm sorry." Said Legoshi, "I, well... I stopped by today to get a proper chance to talk to you guys. I'm a suspect, just like you. I mean, I'm a wolf." He looks at all of them before continuing, "N-No one here can completely refute the possibility that they ate Tem. Right? That's why..." Legoshi stood up, "I, um... If we carnivores want to clear ourselves of suspicion, what we need to do right now is to make sure to always protect our fellow herbivore club members. That's point one. Uhh..." He quickly thinks on how to explain two important things, coexisting with herbivores and protecting them, "So basically, what we need to do is promote a deeper mutual understanding, become the type to put others at ease, and also-"

The whole time, the group looked uninterested in what Legoshi was saying. Until Bill finally had enough.

"Okay, I can't take this anymore! Quit forcing yourself, ya dimwit."

Legoshi goes quiet.

"We don't need you to tell us to take care of the herbivores!"

Legoshi sits back down, 'He's right for once.'

"Plus, your actions are way more convincing than your speeches." Bill added.

"Huh?" Legoshi is confused as his ear flicks.

"You spent the night with Mary, right?" Asked Bill as a memory filled Legoshi's mind of when he and Mary were in the hotel room, back in July, "There's only one thing on our minds right now. Can a large carnivore really do it? With a human?"

Bill, Kai, Riz, Tao and Aoba got on their hands and knees, eagerly wanting to know.

Legoshi was not interested in telling them, "I-If that's all you want, I'm leaving" He turned to get up and leave but Bill put his hand on his shoulder.

"Hey, come on, hold on."

They began to blurt questions.

"Is it really possible? For real?" Asked Kai.

"Like, physically... Do you have to do a lot to push in?" Asked Tao.

"You'd be one step from disaster the whole time!" Bill blurted.

Legoshi was getting annoyed by all the questions. Because the truth is that they didn't have sex, and that they went to bed. He remembered when Mary fell asleep and noticed that the bed sheet wasn't covering her completely. So he pulled them up to her shoulder but she turned into his chest. Surprised, he gently lowered the sheet down and scooted away.

He turned to look at the pool, not wanting to listen to any more questions about sex. And remembering the feeling of Mary's hand on his back that night.

Bill noticed Legoshi's body language, "Oh... What, you didn't do it?"

Legoshi looked over his shoulder before standing up abruptly in annoyance. "Listen here. Either way, it's not like I'd tell you, okay? Just thinking back to that night gives me enough power to last my whole life, even as a virgin!" He felt like he was on fire but instantly felt cold, "Huh?"

"Seriously, dude..." said Bill, "That side of you is what really makes you a pervert."

Aoba stands up, "Legoshi. I finally get why you seem like you're hiding some deep darkness." He approached him as everyone else stood up, "Your affection is... How do I put this... Isn't it closer to worship than anything?"

"Huh?"

"Isn't concerning yourself for all herbivores just you channeling your feelings for her? Tem's death and Louis quitting the club... I don't really know your circumstances, but I think your feelings are a bit too much for a high school girl to handle. Just enjoy your love life as a normal person."

Legoshi lowered his ears, he felt that Aoba had spoken some truth.

"Yeah, that's right." Bill agreed, "That's what I wanted to say."

"Achoo!"

"What, you got a cold?" Aoba asked.

"Yeah, I can't smell anything." Legoshi replied as he covered his nose again with his hand.

Bill watched as Legoshi walked away, "So if you wanted to go one on one with Legoshi, now's your chance, huh?"

Aoba turned to him, "Hey, Bill."

He silenced him as Legoshi pulled out his phone and opened messages from Mary. It has been a few days since they both text one another. He types his message out.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Legoshi: Are you busy?

Mary: A little bit. Got some homework to finish, why?

Legoshi: Can we meet again?

Mary: At the boys dorm fire escape, sure. We can meet in about an hour.

Legoshi: Alright.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

He puts his phone away and heads towards the boys dorm. He sneezes on the way.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

One hour later:

All the girls were doing homework in their dorm. Some on the floor, others in their bunks. Mary was doing some Sea Speech while mentally thinking about the case.

'With nothing happening, the case has not progressed. There has to be something we can do to help find the killer. Maybe there's evidence that is still around somewhere.'

Mary wasn't paying attention as she was flipping pages of her notebook. Her middle finger went up against the edge of the paper. She winced as she felt the paper cut her. Thankfully it wasn't bad but it stung with the air hitting it. Mary got up and went to the bathroom to put a bandage on it. After doctoring it, she threw the bandage wrapper in the garbage.

'I wonder what we'll talk about tonight?'

She exited the bathroom. The others were finishing up homework as it was 30 minutes past 8 pm.

"I'm gonna go meet up with Legoshi." Mary heads to her bed to grab her phone.

"Alright." Replied Susan from her bunk.

Bianca looks up from her school book, "What are you two gonna talk about?"

Mary shrugged, "I'm not sure. We normally talk about school life or I tell him a funny story."

"Or... you can talk to him about your relationship with him."

"Well... I don't know... Should I?"

"Yes. It is important to know what relationship you are in." Bianca then quickly closed her book and jumped up, "You need to be the one to push this relationship forward. Right now you're stuck at the bottom. You need to ask if he wants to progress this relationship. Become boyfriend and girlfriend. Start going out on dates."

"True..." Mary moves part of her hair behind her ear, "I do enjoy being with him."

Bianca puts her hand on Mary's shoulder, "Then it's up to you to see. Who knows. Maybe tonight you both can finally share a kiss."

The whole room stopped what they were doing and looked at Mary.

"Should I kiss him?"

"Yes!" Bianca's eyes widened by the question, "How many times have you tried to kiss him?"

"About three times I guess. First time was in the hotel room, again there on the bed, and third time was in the ballroom back home."

"Then you should just lead up into the moment. Don't let him be the one to transition into it, you should take charge."

Mary nodded, "I will try."

Bianca smiled, "There we go. Go get him, girl."

Mary smiled before waving to the other before leaving the room.

"Tell us all about it when you come back!" Yelled Sarah

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Legoshi sat on the metal emergency box on the fire escape, waiting for Mary. It was already dark as a soft breeze blew by. But his mind was still thinking about what Aoba said earlier.

"Isn't concerning yourself for all herbivores just you channeling your feelings for her?"

'Maybe Aoba is right. Protecting the herbivores is all I know, and protecting Mary. It felt like an instinct. All this time spent with her just relaxed me. She is safe. That's all it matters. Maybe my emotions are too much for her. I should just-'

Legoshi's ear twitches as he hears someone walking up the fire escape. Mary soon appeared at the bottom of the last flight of stairs.

"Hey Legoshi." She smiled at him as she reached the top.

He nodded before scooting over for her to sit next to him on the right.

Mary sits down and notices Legoshi's body language, "What's wrong? I know it's a bit late for us to meet. Normally we meet before dinner time."

"Y-Yeah..." Legoshi muttered as he looked over at her.

"What is it? Did something happen today you wanna talk about? Like during the Drama Club?"

Legoshi looked away, "No, nothing in particular."

Mary nodded, "Well hopefully you are alright. I heard you sneezing during the meeting today. Are you feeling sick?"

'Yeah... She is beautiful.' Legoshi thought, "I have a cold."

"Oh no. Hopefully you'll feel better soon." She tapped him on his right hand.

Legoshi looked down and noticed the bandage, "What happened to your finger?"

"Oh..." Mary held it up, "It is a paper cut. I got it not too long ago from flipping pages in my notebook."

Legoshi gently takes her hand in his, gently holding it.

'Before, I hated being reminded of our difference in size... But now I feel somehow happy instead. I feel confident that I'll be able to protect her. It's not worship. I care for her as a male, nothing more.'

His tail swayed back and forth a bit as he grasped her hand more.

"Legoshi?" Mary asked, a bit confused about what was happening. She looked up at his gray eyes. And felt her heart skip a beat. She quickly remembered what Bianca said, and took action. Using her left hand, she grabbed Legoshi's tie and pulled him down a bit until they were near eye level. "Sorry... I keep forgetting how tall you are. You normally bed down to be near my height, right?"

"Oh, right, I forgot. Huh?" Muttered Legoshi nervously and slighlty blushing. "I-Is this... I-I..."

"Don't say anything." Mary let's go of his tie.

"Okay."

Legoshi raised his left hand and placed it on the wall next to Mary's head. And began to slowly close his eyes as he moved in.

Mary did the same, 'This is it. I'm going to kiss Legoshi. The wolf I love but never able to say it. But now... I'll show it.'

She placed her right hand on his cheek. Legoshi opened his eyes and looked at Mary. Her blue eyes, her dark long hair, and her face.

"Mary... Do you still... like Louis?" Legoshi asked softly.

Mary was surprised by the question. It was so random. "What?" She asked as she retracted her hand, "No... I... Why do you ask?"

Legoshi then leaned back and retracted his hand. He stood up and walked towards the stairs with no word. 'It's strange. I feel very calm inside now.'

"Wait! Louis and I aren't together. My relationship with him was never serious." Mary quickly responded.

Legoshi turned a bit, "Your expression just now tells me all I need to know."

"What?"

"Besides, I... It's not like I want you to belong just to me. I'm happy as long as you're alive. I finally realized that." Legoshi began to walk down the stairs.

Mary was still shocked by the sudden question and with Legoshi walking away. She quickly stood up, "What are you talking about? Please tell me?"

"From now on, I want to protect you at a distance." Legoshi stopped to answer before continuing to descend the stairs.

"Legoshi..." Mary called out but he was gone. She walked backwards until she felt the railing, and slid down to sit.

'What did I do wrong?'

She didn't know what happened, but what Legoshi said it felt like it was all nothing. Her heart began to hurt and she slowly started to overtake my sadness.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Legoshi walked away from the dorms and to the storage building. The metal windmill squeaked in the wind as it turned. He crouched on the ground near the fence.

'My love comes from my wishes for you. My heart will always lie with the herbivores. It's like Aoba said. But I think that's the right path for my love. The right path for me, as a carnivore.'

The trees swayed in the wind. Legoshi was so lost in his thoughts and with his nose plugged up by his cold. He didn't notice someone approaching him from behind.

Legoshi then remembered an interaction he had with Tem, many months ago.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Flashback:

It was in the afternoon. Legoshi and Tem were sitting on the floor near the practice stage. Legoshi was cleaning some spotlights before Tem sat down and started talking to him.

"Hey, Tem. Is Alpaca wool any different from sheep wool?" Asked Legoshi.

Tem chuckled, "An Alpaca's wool is much more delicate." He explained as he felt his wool on his neck, "Wanna feel it?"

"If you don't mind."

"Go ahead." Tem moved his neck forward as Legoshi touched it.

"You're right...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Achoo!

Legoshi is brought back from his thoughts from his sneeze.

'Wait, what kind of memory was that?'

He rubbed his nose.

'But... the truth is my friendship with Tem was nothing special. I want to find whoever ate Tem. And that's not because I feel I have an obligation to. I just...'

Legoshi then hears something behind him. Before he could react, he felt a large force hitting him on the head, sending him forward. Unable to react quickly by the sudden attack, Legoshi tries to turn to see who it is but is stomped on the head. His face on the ground as he struggled to break free.

'He's huge! This isn't good!'

The force of the individual was keeping Legoshi down.

"Who are you!? Hey!" Legoshi called out.

But all he saw was a fist that came up and forcibly down on his face. Knocking Legoshi out.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Legoshi awoke to the feeling of being dragged across the ground. Pain was all over his body. He couldn't see due to a blindfold and felt his hands were tied together. He tried to kick free from whoever was dragging him, they reluctantly let go.

'What... what's going on?'

Legoshi couldn't move quickly to stand up as he was pulled up onto his feet. Again he tried to smell, but nothing.

'It's no use. I can't smell anything with my cold.'

"You're... the guy who killed Tem, aren't you?"

The attacker quickly grabbed my Legoshi's head and slammed it against a concrete pillar. The force was so strong that it cracked the pillar upon impact. He groaned in pain as blood gushed down his head and on the eyes. Legoshi felt his legs give out as he slid down. It felt like the wind was knocked out of him.

'Is this a threat?'

"You're tellIng me not to sniff around anymore..." Legoshi mumbled as he stumbled onto his feet, "You seem to have a lot of confidence in your strength. As a fellow carnivore-"

He wasn't able to finish as another forceful blow hit him and his head hit the pillar again. Legoshi slid back down, full of pain and winded. Then he remembered what Tem said to him.

"An Alpaca's wool is much more delicate. Wanna feel it?"

'Tem... I'm sorry that I said our friendship was nothing special. A herbivore treating a carnivore as kindly as you did... Really, there's nothing more special than that. That's something us carnivores must never forget.'

Memories of the herbivore club members sitting on the practice stage, chatting, laughing, all seemed good filled his head. And then of Louis when he reappeared that day. To finally Mary, that time in the subway, and what she said.

"I understand now how carnivores feel. Being suppressed. For me, I'm just someone who has come from an isolated place who wants to experience what it's like from the other side."

'She was right. Mary is honest. But I understand a little better now. No matter what, I need to pay my debts to the herbivores.'

Legoshi sensed the attacker's face was near his. If he couldn't smell, he must use other senses to find who this is. Quickly springing into action, Legoshi lunged forward and used his jaw to grab him. The attacker tried to push him off.. Legoshi jumped up onto the attacker without breaking away and wrapped his legs around to hold on as he tasted him.

'I need to find a clue I can use! Taste him, feel him...! How are his teeth? Do they taste like meat? Give it! Give me your saliva!'

He detached for a moment as saliva dripped out of his mouth but quickly reattached to get as many clues I needed. The attacker then quickly punched Legoshi off and then kicked him as hard as he could away.

He was in pain all over as I rolled on the ground until . But then heard the sound of footsteps running off, the attacker was gone.

Legoshi was on his back, took some deep breaths to calm down.

'I've got to stay conscious. I need to remember this flavor.'

"But man..." Legoshi muttered to himself, "If I knew this was gonna happen, I should've had my first kiss with Mary a few moments ago."

Remembering his phone, he slowly pulled it out and called Jack.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

In 701, the boys were doing their own thing. At the moment, Jack was watching Collot play a game on his device.

"Ah, dammit!" Said Collot as a monster killed his character, "This is humiliating."

"Be careful." Jack leans over to see his screen, "You need to watch out for that guy's tail attack."

Just then Jack's phone began to vibrate.

Collot hears it and turns to him, "Jack, that's your phone, right?"

Jack looked down and picked up his phone. He sees that Legoshi was calling him. He answered it.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Jack: Hello, Legoshi?

He gets no reply, but only the sound of someone breathing through a stuffy nose. Collot heard it too.

Jack lowered his phone, "That's the sound he makes when his nose is stuffy. It must be an SOS signal for some tissues." He gets up and grabbed the box of tissues.

"Eh, you understood that?" Asked Collot.

"I've known him a long time." Jack replied before exiting the dorm room.

Jack: Legoshi. Hey! What's wrong with you? Say something. Legoshi? Hey...

Jack still doesn't hear a response until the sound of creaking metal.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Jack lowers his phone as he realizes where and what was making that sound. He heard it before, many times throughout the school years. He turned and looked out the window. The metal windmill was in the distance by the storage building. And he realized deep down that something was truly wrong.

He ran out of the dorm and towards the storage building.

'Every year, the number of things I can do to help Legoshi grows smaller. The truth is, I realized that long ago.'

Jack quickly made his way over.

Legoshi continued to lay on the ground, hoping Jack would come. He moved part of his blindfold away from his blood covered eye.

'I didn't have the strength to tell him where I was, but... I hope he doesn't panic too much when he sees me.'

He flicked as he heard footsteps coming. Legoshi turned his head to see Jack stop in place. He is shocked to see his friend's state, he lets go of the box of tissues.

"Legoshi...!" Jack quickly came over and kneeled down beside him.

"Hey, Jack. Thank you." Legoshi winced in pain.

Jack begins to panic, "No... no way! Don't die on me, Legoshi! Can you see me?"

"Yeah, I can see you. Do you mind untying me?" He asked as he lifted his tied wrists up.

"Who the hell did this to you!?" Asked Jack.

"Hm..." Legoshi looked up through his blood-covered eye, "that's what I'd like to know."

Jack is able to untie Legoshi and remove his blood soaked blindfold.

"Can you move?"

"Mmm... yeah." Legoshi turned a bit.

Jack moved back a bit, "Be careful."

Legoshi turned over and was able to sit up to be able to sit. Jack quickly got up and retrieved the box of tissues he dropped earlier. He handed the box to Legoshi. He took a couple of tissues out and wiped his eye a bit and his nose that were covered or blood dripping out. The blood has already soaked into his fur.

He then felt a sting coming from the left side of his head. It was a wound he received when it was smashed against the concrete pillar. After a few minutes, Legoshi was able to stand up and walked over to sit on the steps. Jack sat down next to him and placed the tissue box between them. It was quiet. Neither of them know what to say.

Legoshi was thinking.

'My attacker is strong. I don't think I'll be able to stand up against him. I need to find help to be able to catch my attacker. I know where I have to go.'

"Um... I won't be able to come to school for a while." Said Legoshi.

"Huh?"

"I want you to tell the teachers that I need to take care of my sick grandpa."

"Huh? Why?" Asked Jack.

"And one more thing." He looked over at Jack, "I borrowed a textbook from Collot. It's in a desk in the classroom. Could you give it back to him?" Legoshi looked into Jack's eyes, "I'm counting on you for both things. Seeing you made me feel much better."

"Hey! Let's go to the nurses office." Said Jack as he watched Legoshi get to leave. He grabbed his arm, "You need to have a doctor look at you!"

"I can't." Legoshi gently pushed Jack's hands off his arm, "The moment I head back to school, I'll be killed." He turned and began to walk away.

"Eh? Then where will you go!?" Jack asked panically as he stands up to follow.

Legoshi stopped walking, his back turned to Jack. "To a place you should never learn about, Jack. I promise I'll come back."

"What's that about?" asked Jack as his emotions started to overwhelm him, "I realized something long ago. Legoshi, you... You've been drifting farther and farther away from me. You're never going to come back, are you?" He looked down as tears began to build up in his eyes, "You've always been so awkward... All I wanted was for an awkward guy like you to find normal happiness. Why did things have to turn out like this? The stronger you get, the less happy you become... I can't bear to see you that way anymore..."

Jack couldn't take it anymore. Tears rolled down his cheek as he started to cry. He cared for his friend.

Legoshi turned to look at his friend cry.

'At that moment... Jack looked as if he was shining brightly from far away. Tears were streaming down his golden fur as he worried for his friend... Yet I was silent, and covered in red. We're nothing alike anymore.'

"The reason I'm strong..." Legoshi said, "isn't because I want to be happy." He quickly turned and ran towards the fence as Jack ran after him.

Legoshi jumped up and over, not looking back and into the night. Jack stopped at the fence, sadness filled him.

"Legoshi..." he muttered as his friend disappeared from view.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Legoshi POV:

I ran all the way to the city. Not caring how people saw me. I used my handkerchief that I had in my pocket to wipe up the blood on my face. The clouds gathered while I was running and it was starting to rain which helped. I tied it around my head to cover my head wound. It was at that moment when I turned the corner and entered into a familiar but horrid place. The Dark Market.

Animals were walking down the alley, continuing to go about their business as it rained. Some had their umbrellas out.

There's only one adult I can rely on right now. I could really use some advice right now. All I need is a few words from the watchman of this place that's tainted in desires.

I spotted a stand that had a potted plants on it

"Excuse me." I approached the stand which had a female turtle sitting back reading the newspaper, "Do you sell bamboo?"

The turtle looked up from her newspaper, "How many bundles?"

"Ah...no, uh..." I started to stutter as I didn't know what I was going to say.

How stupid am I?

"Sir? What happened to you?" She noticed my bloody handkerchief around my head.

"Sorry." I muttered, embarrassed that I couldn't even ask what I needed.

Thinking I want advice is just an excuse. What I really want right now is some emotional support.

"Hey granny, take care of my order first."

I was startled by the sudden voice next to me. But quickly realized who it belonged to. Looking over, I was shocked to see Gouhin standing next to me. He wore a blue rain jacket and had a yellow backpack. He took a puff of his cigarette before continuing.

"50 kilograms of giant bamboo and 5 bundles of Nirihara bamboo. And I want the 30 kilograms of the bamboo grass I ordered before."

"Yes, yes." The turtle nodded, "You sure are a glutton, Gouhin. Are you going to bring all that home today?"

"Sure am." He nodded as the turtle turned to get his order. He smirked before looking over at me, "I knew it was you. Other than all those gaping wounds, you seem well."

I just stared at him. Unsure what to say.

What I want isn't advice, or emotional support.

Until I realized what I needed.

"Gouhin!" I took a step back and stood straight, "Please make me your pupil!"

I then bowed to him.

Gouhin finished getting his backpack back on after securing his order on his, "No thanks." He looked over to the turtle, "I'll come again." He said before walking away.

I finally stood up and watched him walk down the dark market. But I wasn't giving up, I followed him.

We reached his building.

"What do you want from me?" Noticing that I followed him to his place.

"I need your help."

"With what?"

"To take down the killer at my school."

Gouhin opened the door to his clinic. I followed him inside.

"Sit down." Gouhin motioned to me over to the red chair as he removed his backpack and jacket.

I sit down as Gouhin extinguishes his cigarette in an ashtray, then he disappears into another room. Comes back after a few minutes with two cups of bamboo tea and sets it on the table in front of me. Next thing he did was go over to his first aid kit that was sitting on a bookshelf and pulled out some bandages. He returns with it, adding some medical scissors in a metal dish.

He removes my handkerchief from my head and uses a cotton pad to tap the wound with.

"Tell me about the killer." Said Gouhin

I explained what happened at Cherryton and that I took it upon myself to find the killer.

"Hmm..." Gouhin hummed, "So there's a carnivore who ate a herbivore at your school, huh? And what's more, this incident happened within your drama club... You're like the physical embodiment of bad luck, aren't you." He finished putting the bandage on my head before sitting across from me.

"The person who attacked me today has to be the same one who ate Tem. And he was incredibly strong. At this rate, leaving him alone is incredibly dangerous."

Gouhin took out a cigarette and lit it. He inhaled before exhaling smoke, "...And?"

"Eh...well, uh..."

"What?"

"I want to get stronger." I looked down, "Please teach me how to fight-"

"I refuse." Gouhin blurted out.

I looked up at him. "Huh?"

"Maybe you've forgotten, but my job is to be a therapist at the Black Market." He explained as he stood up, "If I have to take care of a bomb like you, it'll be harder to do my job!"

I pointed at myself, "Bomb? Hey, it's not like I suddenly lash out or start screaming out of nowhere."

Gouhin looked at me irritatingly, "Ever since you beat the boss of the Shishigumi, they've been getting stronger... Sheesh. If you're gonna spend your time heading in and out to train, then they're bound to eventually find you. They'll do a lot worse than one bullet to the head!" He motioned a hand gun to his own head. Then walked over to his desk table and picked up a clipboard. "I don't really care what kind of dish they plan to turn you into, but I'm not getting involved in shit that'll harm my reputation again. Just drink your tea and go home."

I quickly stood up to convince him, "Ah, I've had very little presence ever since I was a kid! I'll do my best to sneak my way in here."

"How do you plan to sneak around with that huge body?" Asked Gouhin.

"In that case, I'll stay here and work for you."

"What about school?"

"I'll take a break from it..."

Gouhin did not like that answer, "Out of the question!" He whipped around towards me, "What are you going to do if you can't find a proper job because you lack education?"

I looked down, "Then is there nothing I can do? I don't want to be a bystander anymore."

"Good grief..." Gouhin muttered, "You've become pretty pushy haven't you. But I kind of like how naive you are." He turned to fully face me, "Calm down and take a seat. I've got an idea."

I sat back down in the red chair, "What idea?"

Without a second later, something mechanical pops out of the chair and it immediately restrains me. A belt around my neck, two grabbers on my wrists, a belt in my waist and two cuffs around my ankles. I was completely shocked and surprised.

"Ah... wh-what are you doing!?" I was a bit panicked.

"You need to show me you're prepared to train under me."

I looked up to see Gouhin pull out a sickle which startled me.

"That's the law of the underworld." He said as he approached. "Try not to move too much. Just think of it as a ceremony to seal your promise!"

Gouhin raised it up and swung at me. All I could do was let out a scream of terror, unaware of what he was going to do to me.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

And Done! I was unable to upload before New Years. But thankfully I'll do it now. First off, Happy New Years. I'm excited for this year because season 3 shall be released at any date this year, hopefully. His chapter was long and enjoyable to write. I'm hopefully gonna start going into writing more often. So that I'm prepared for season 3 and begin to plan for it. Anyways, hope you all are in good health. Remember to smash the vote button and comment below. And I'll see you all in Chapter 15!😁💙💛

(Word Count: 5960)

*Warning. Next Chapter will begin sad.*