No More Stripes (Beastars)

Gut Feeling

The black market, Jack always made sure to take the farthest road away from it whenever visiting Legosi. He wished the wolf would live somewhere safer, but he just wouldn't budge. 'It's cheap,' he said, and once the lab found a cheap place in the city he answered with, 'It's close to the udon shop I work at.'

Ugh.

"There it is..." Jack mumbled.

The Hidden Condo. It was ragged, old and too dirty to Jack's liking—another reason why he tried finding another place for his friend. Then again, the dorm was always messy even when Legosi was there, so it wasn't like the wolf cared about hygiene in the first place.

Alright stop, no need for thinking all that now. He was visiting his friend to catch up, not to nag about some rickety old building. He even brought homemade egg sandwiches for the occasion. And he stories about the two months he spent in drama club.

He approached the building. From the corner of his eyes, he caught a glimpse of a male sheep running off into the distance. Probably in a hurry, Jack guessed. Something about him seemed oddly familiar, though the lab couldn't put a finger on it. He shrugged it off and climbed the flights of stairs, the metal steps creaking under him. His ears perked when he reached Legosi's floor; there were two animals talking, walking to where he was. They sounded familiar.

"He's quiet as ever. I'm not surprised, though."

"Yeah, noticed he got some new scars too. Think he got into fights or something?"

"Bill, it's Legosi. It was probably some accident at work or- oh, Jack?"

Said animals came into view as they came out of the corner, and Jack's ears proved to be reliable. It was Bill and Aoba.

"Hey!" Jack greeted, his tail wagging instinctively as he saw the familiar faces.

"Yo," Bill greeted back, one hand in his pocket, " didn't expect to see you here."

Aoba asked, "What's someone like you doing here?"

"He's Legosi's friend, remember? They were roommates."

"We're more childhood friends really, but yeah. I'm here to visit him," Jack said with a smile. "Are you two here for him too?"

The tiger chuckled. "The dude's a lone wolf. Gotta visit him once in a while to remind him he got friends, yeah?" He walked past Jack, giving him a quick pat on his shoulder. "Anyways, don't wanna keep you. See you, man."

Something clicked in Jack's head. Bill was already going downstairs, but Aoba still hasn't, so he asked the bird, "Was Pina here, too?"

"Oh yeah, he was," he answered. "Did you see him?"

Jack gave a brief nod. "Saw him running off somewhere."

"That sheep." Aoba let out a small laugh. "He rushed off before us to meet Riz."

"Riz?"

"He's a bear, was in drama club before... well, you should know if you watched the news. Pina knows the area well, and the place isn't far, so don't worry." He gave the lab a quick wave and smiled. "Anyway, see you. You have a wolf to visit, right?"

And there went the bird. That was a surprising turn of event, Jack had to admit, but not unwelcome. Though something inside him whispered, wished that the tiger didn't leave so fast.

...

"I completely forgot those two were friends."