The Curse of Beasts (BEASTARS)

The Duel

Five Years Ago...

The sun was in the sky, only slightly blurred by clouds. The grass had a chill to it, though it was somber. A small wolf sat on a hill, peeking to the forest of buildings beyond. His gaze shifted to the ground, his thoughts changing slightly. This day was a sad one, and one he found difficult to grasp.

It was the day of a funeral— a funeral for someone especially important.

The young canine held a distanced expression, almost as if he wanted to run away. He wasn't the only one on the hill, though. His relatives were sparse, but there was one he knew for as long as he was alive. There were stories of this relative, going back to a time and place riddled with conflict. He had both size and strength on his side, making him a formidable foe to those who fought him. Given his species, they would be sure to hold some weight...

But were they true in reality?

"...Grandpa," the wolf said after a moment, "Were you a scary komodo dragon?"

The large reptile looked over to him with a small chuckle, "What, Legosi? Did your classmates harass you again? You're not getting bullied, are you?"

"No..."

"Are you ashamed of having reptilian blood running through your veins?"

"...that's not it.", one of the wolf's ears twitched slightly.

He was at least one-fourth reptilian, so he couldn't do much about that. It was still strange, though, even with interspecial marriages rare. A mammal and a reptile getting married? It was unusual— not to mention most likely unheard of! He never knew how it happened, but somehow a komodo dragon fell in love with a wolf. They had a child, and she, a child of her own...

"...That was a good funeral.", his thoughts broke when the reptile sat beside him with an arm over his shoulder.

It didn't feel right to him, as he knew the truth behind the loss. The wolf who died went through so much— more than she could bear! None of the others knew, and Legosi knew his grandpa didn't. He couldn't help feeling angry because of it, as if the reptile didn't care at all!

"Legosi, I'd like you to live together with—"

"No.", he said as he got up angrily. "How can you look so happy? Your daughter went through so much pain...do you even care?"

"My mom killed herself because of—"

...

I'm sorry, Grandpa.

Legosi snapped himself back long enough to roll to the side, narrowly avoiding Riz slamming his hand into the floor. It even left a sizable mark in the tiles, complete with a few cracks. If the wolf stayed there, the chances were slim of him making it out. So much for the room being durable...

"You're gonna make me break the floor at this rate.", Riz panted. "Why don't you let me touch you some more."

They both stood, injured and tired. Even with those injuries, the bear clearly had a lethal edge against the wolf. The scratch on his head was proof enough, as well as the handprint on the floor. Still, he wasn't going to stop, not with the possibility of another suffering Tem's fate— and certainly not with Alan on the line as well.

I can't afford to die here!, he thought before Riz was on him once again.

Legosi barely managed to back away before the bear grabbed his arms. Reflexively, he grabbed at his elbows and jumped up. He winced as he felt one of his feet being bitten down on. The wolf growled, not letting himself falter in the slightest. Riz actually chuckled at his actions.

"Is that your idea of a defense?", he asked through the literal foot in his mouth.

"Go ahead and have a taste of wolf meat...I'll make sure you never use your jaws again!"

A low humming broke both of them away from their fight, coming from near the door.

"Boy's bathrooms are filthy as usual...", a voice sighed as it came nearer. "Hm? Is someone there?"

Riz began making his way over, making the wolf panic.

No! What are you gonna do, Riz?!

He'd already opened the door and poked his head out, "Oh, ma'am! Sorry, I'm still using this."

"Really? But you're not allowed here at this time."

"Sorry, I didn't know...I'll get out as soon as I can. Could you just give me five minutes?"

"Well, all right. I have other places to clean, anyways. Five minutes!"

"Thank you! I'll be quick."

It still felt odd seeing the bear put up such a friendly face despite what he'd done. Not even a minute ago he looked ready to go all out and he just convinced a janitor to back off without any hassle. Once the door was closed, he relaxed slightly and sighed. If anything he looked...relieved?

"What to do.", he said almost casually as he licked his clawed shoulder. "Ow."

I'm pretty sure I'm hurting a lot more than you., the wolf thought annoyedly.

"I'll just clean up the blood off the floor."

"What are you gonna do about that paw print on the floor?", he asked while looking at the imprint.

Riz chuckled, "I'll just get out before that lady comes back and play dumb."

At the very least, he's a carnivore who's careful when around herbivores.

"You should wipe off your blood. You can use my shirt."

"Eh, nah. I can take care of it. I'm leaving through the window anyway."

It's so strange.

"All right then, see ya.", the bear turned away.

I'd hate him more if he were some simple-minded villain. How can you still be sane after you ate Tem?

He turned as well, "...Yeah..."

If I were in your shoes a year ago...I would've just left school altogether.

In a way, it was true. Legosi wasn't the same as he was back then. He'd realized things about the world and even himself in the time that passed since Tem's death. Even if he were somewhat aware of his instincts and was the culprit himself back then, he probably wouldn't stay with that knowledge in mind. In some sense, Riz had something on him in that regard...

Just what was it that kept him sane?

The two turned towards each other fiercely, their arms ending up locked in a struggle.

Legosi glared at the bear, "I will never forgive you..."

The bear grinned, "Today, it looks like we've established our hatred for each other."

They stopped after a moment, stepping back.

"New Year's Eve, Riz. Don't think you'll continue living like this after the year ends."

"New Year's Eve, huh? That's in 14 more days. All right, fine. That'll give me enough time to kill you for good."

The wolf walked away with the bear's parting words, "We'll bring it to an end as fellow carnivores."

~~*~~

A.N: Brainfart from me, I posted last chapter as this one and didn't notice at all!

So the fourteen day thing...still working out what'll happen between then because (putting aside a few chapters), the manga time-jumps HARD since the original was ten days. It's not that much of a difference, but I wanted to space things out since I'm wanting to set things up more for the end.