Just Keep Moving (a Beastars Fanfic)

Ch1. Death

"Remember to brush your teeth and stay in touch with us dear!" my mother called out as the doors of the train closed.I smiled back at her and waved through the window as the train departed from the station. I was off to college, where I would spend the next few years of my life, hopefully graduate, and afterwards, find a well paying job. Well, that was the plan, at least. 

As I sat in my seat, I felt the air becoming stuffy, so I decided to open the window for some fresh air. That alone wasn't anything too bad, but what I did next was the most idiotic thing I ever did. I decided to stick my head out the open window. At first, I was enjoying the breeze on my face, a welcome change from the stale air of the train compartment. What I enjoyed less was the feeling of a bird crashing beak first into my neck.

I instinctually pulled my head back into the train, but the damage had been done. The bird's beak must have punctured an artery, based on the way blood was pouring out of the wound. I didn't even get to register the pain before I blacked out. As the world faded away, all I could think of was how it was a shame for all my years in highschool to be wasted.

***

When I next regained my sight, I saw that I was in a dark void, surrounded by other people. They were all racing towards a solitary point of light in the darkness, and I was pushed to go along with the crowd. 

Looking around to gain my bearings, I saw that there was another, brighter light in the opposite direction of where the crowd was rushing. I felt it pull at my very being, and as though possessed, I started pushing against the crowd towards the brighter light. When I finally reached it, I stuck out a hand to touch it. The moment I made contact with it, what seemed to be an infinite amount of images flashed through my mind, and I fell.

The landing was not pleasant.

The landing was not pleasant at all, in fact, in part due to the concrete on which I landed on, face first . No serious damage was done, and when I felt at my neck, I found that the wound from the bird was gone.

Observing my surroundings, I discovered that I had been dumped in an alleyway. The situation was quite strange, but I was preoccupied in thanking the gods that I was still alive. The alley I was in had a clear opening to what appeared to be a main street, and it was only when I looked at the people walking by that I really started questioning my current situation.

Walking by the alley were a multitude of different anthropomorphic animals in a variety of different clothing. At first, I thought that I had stumbled upon some furry convention, but a look upward changed that thought when I saw an anthropomorphic bird fly overhead. At least they all seemed peaceful. Pulling up the hood of my hoodie, I tried to hide my face as I walked out of the alley to hopefully find someone who could help me.

As I walked, I tried to eavesdrop on other conversations to see if I would even be able to communicate with these... people. I understood them at least, and I was also able to read the signs I saw. One of the buildings I saw had a sign that read, "Police," and I decided to enter it.

When I entered the building, I was met with the classic bored receptionist. Keeping my head down, I approached them and asked, "Is there anyone available to help me with something?" 

The receptionist, who I believed to be a fox, didn't even look up from their computer and replied, "Grab a number, and wait your turn."

I took a ticket from the dispenser next to the receptionist, and looked for a chair to sit at to wait. It didn't take too long for my turn, I only had to wait behind an old tortoise and a wolf before being admitted into what appeared to be an interrogation room.

The police officer with me started off with asking me for my name, to which I replied, "My name is Tim."

"Alright Tim," the officer said, "What's your species?"

"I'm a human," I stated.

"Don't be ridiculous, that species doesn't exist," the officer said. "Just lower your hood so that I can see for myself."

I did as he ordered, and after a brief period of what appeared to be shock, he asked to see my teeth. To this I also complied, and after a quick check, he sat back with a surprised expression.

"Well I'll be damned," he muttered. Then, speaking normally, he said, "I guess that really is a species. I apologize for my assumptions." Then, he picked up what appeared to be an encyclopedia and started flipping through it. 

After a bit he asked another question. "How old are you?" When I told him that I was 16 years old, he just nodded and continued flipping through his book. After a few minutes, he shut the book, and looked back at me.

"Your species isn't in the records, but that's not my problem," he said. "What is my problem is that you are still a kid who cannot legally function as an adult. So, what I'm going to do is put you into our local highschool. It has dorms for you to stay in, and you can graduate and get a job. You're lucky it's just before school starts a new year. Let's go."