Just Keep Moving (a Beastars Fanfic)

Ch10. Normal Day

    The entire afternoon was spent drawing up plans for the cart. I was asked for measurements, and both Genshi and Obi pointed out better ways to do things. I had planned on putting the drum for water on the bottom of the cart to avoid crushing the cat with its weight. Obi and Genshi had days, however, that I could use a strong type of wood like oak, and that with the proper techniques, I could raise the drum. This helped me massively, as it would allow me to utilize a siphon to draw water from the tank.

    Eventually, evening came, and both Obi and Genshi headed out for dinner. I just took out a price of hardtack and nibbled on it as I thought about how to design the cart. I went over the details of how the cart would be built one last time, then exited the room and went to my dorm to turn in early. The next day was a school day, after all.

    Genshi had told both me and Obi that we would spend lunch in the woodshop classroom, and that we would have to bring our lunch there. We would finalize the plans before starting on the wheels of the cart, which Genshi expected to be half finished by the time we were done. We were also told that we could spend all of woodshop class working on the body of the cart. If we maintained a decent pace, the cart was expected to be finished within a week.

    I spent all of my free time the next day in the woodshop classroom, up until I had to leave for work. The two front wheels and the chassis had been formed, so I spent my free time carving out the spokes of the other wheels. Obi had talked to me about the use of dovetails in assembly while we'd worked on cutting out what would be the bottom of the cart. I looked forward to seeing how they would be implemented in practice, as it would likely be some valuable information.

***

    There was another rowdy customer at my shift. This time it was a lizard, and Peter told me to be careful while dealing with him. "That's a komodo dragon," he said. "Their venom is corrosive and highly dangerous. Shut its mouth, and don't let it release any of the stuff."

    I did as Pete ordered, but seeing as the customer wasn't in the rabid state the best had been in, I opted to approach it without lethal force. Sidling up to it, I acted as if I was just cleaning a table, and when it turned around to continue harassing other customers, I pounced. I took him out at the knees, and as he fell I flipped him so that he would fall face down on the floor. I used my hands to hold his arms behind his back while l stood on his head and snout, pinning his mouth shut with my feet and the floor. Once that was done, I stomped down on his head, knocking him out and possibly causing a concussion.

    Pete handed me a rope when I asked him what to do with the body. We tied him up, binding his mouth as well before just leaving him in a corner of the room. I would drop him off at Gouhin's place, where I hoped the panda would know what to do. The rest of my shift went by smoothly enough, and after I took my paycheck, I fireman carried the komodo dragon to Gouhin's clinic. On the way, I had to stop to knock out the komodo dragon two more times. The first time, I hit him over the head again, but then I realized that continuously striking his head could cause permanent damage. That was why I choked him out in the middle of the street the next time I had to subdue him. The komodo dragon's vitality was surprising, but I guessed that it was a perk of the species.

    Gouhin yelled at me a bit when I dumped the komodo at his door, but after explaining what had happened, he just shook his head and told me that he would take care of the komodo. I left with my paycheck, satisfied with how I'd dealt with the threat. The fight had reminded me of the bear and how I still didn't feel any strong emotion from killing the bear. Did I regret killing the bear? Only for the fact that it was a crime. It was a shame that a life had to be ended, but when I thought more about it, I realized that I still would have done it, no matter what. The bear had seemed too far gone, and like a dog with rabies, the kindest thing to do was to put it out of its misery.