Beastars: A Symphony of Life

Chapter 70: Changes from Pain

"Shoji," Shoon said, gently nudging him from his half-nap. "It's time to move."

The wild dog opened his eyes and looked around. They hadn't moved from when he had dozed off. He grabbed the handle on the side of the car seat and sat up in Shoon's vintage car. He rarely used it, unless he was going after big game. It was nighttime and the streetlamps were on, illuminating the road they were on.

"What's the plan?" the canine asked.

"He takes his garbage out every week on this day," Shoon said. "We'll catch him at one of two dumpsters. Which one do you want?"

"What are my options?" Shoji asked.

"There's one down this alley," he said, pointing around Shoji through the passenger side window. "There's another on the other side."

"I'll take the one here," the wild dog said. "What do I do?"

Shoon reached back and pulled out a case. He held it on his lap and opened it up, revealing two captive bolt pistols.

"Sneak up behind him," Shoon said, picking up one and opening the back. "Lay the nozzle against the back of his head, and pull the trigger."

He loaded atiny canister into the barrel and closed it up before going to the next one.

"Won't that kill them?" Shoji asked, watching him more closely as he loaded the next one.

"No," Shoon said. "He's a larger animal, so this won't damage anything too severely. He'll be in a daze, enough we can get him into the back of the car and to Club Orchid. Then it's to my special room."

"Yes," Shoji nodded. "I've always wanted to know what you do behind those closed doors."

"It's very uninteresting, let me tell you."

Shoon finished calibrating the guns and handed one to Shoji.

"One shot," he said. "Quiet enough to not sound like a gunshot, but loud enough we'll be able to hear the other one's go off. That'll be the que that one of us got 'em and the other needs to help the other. Got it?"

"Yup," the dog said.

"Then let's get to it," Shoon said, stepping from the vehicle. Shoji followed suit, walking to his alley and watching Shoon go to his. He felt the weight of the gun in his hand. He wondered what the kickback would be. His Taurus Judge was a bit lighter than this, but the recoil was massive. If the heft was anything to go off of, the recoil would be more than that. But then again, this wasn't a normal gun. He held the weapon down at his side, too big to put in his empty sweatshirt pocket.

He found a dark alcove in the brick wall adjacent to the dumpster. He slipped inside and waited. It smelled of shit back here, and he did his best to ignore it. He was excited to be working with his boyfriend. Hunting was, exciting. Aside from the stalking and waiting part. That had bored him beyond belief, though he understood the reason for it. He heard Shoon cough as the sound echoed through the back ways. It was a long, hacking cough. He had been doing that all day and it was worrying Shoji. Was he sick? If that was so, he wouldn't have shown any symptoms. But the hybrid was usually on top of checking his personal health so he should've caught it. Shoji would just have to check on him himself.

There was silence for a long time and Shoji heard his watch beep. He looked down and pressed the button to light up the digital numbers. Nine o'clock. He had been standing there for thirty minutes, god this was boring. He slumped down and sat on the ground, laying his head back on the wall and looking around him. A druggy had been here. There was a needle on the ground, half full and with some congealed blood on the tip. The wild dog inhaled and smelled heroin and crack. His nerves tingled as he looked at the needle. He almost went to reach for it before the scars on his wrists burned him back to reality. He rolled down his sleeve and looked at the one running down his entire forearm. His life was different now. The drugs, the violence...that wasn't him anymore. Maybe that was why he had been attracted to Shoon in the first place. He had helped detox him from his addiction and just let him be who he wanted to be. It was nice, and for the first time in his life he had been happy.