Louis walked out from behind the stall, the shoe and card were clenched tightly in his hands. His expression was one of pure shock. He could hardly keep a straight mind.

Haru was kidnapped by the Shishigumi...

Her chances of survival were decreasing with every passing second. Although, with it being the Shishigumi, her chances weren't that high to begin with. She could have just as well been digested right about now.

Louis was shivering, every thought pulling him into a different direction. The police certainly wouldn't help, the Shishigumi was in control of a large portion of the Black Market, and a decent part of the police station were carnivores themselves. It wouldn't surprise him if any were corrupt.

The mayor or any other authority figures would likely do nothing. The black market was a staple of carnivore order and stability. They most likely wouldn't want to jeopardize that, even at the cost of a student's life.

Louis walked towards one of the statues, his mind ripped to bits and pieces, all trying to figure out what to do. He sat down at the foundation platform, the meteor was in his line of sight. Tears began to well into his eyes as he remembered what he had planned to do.

He was going to tell her how he felt, leaving his facade behind. He would fight his "father" till his death for Haru. He would marry her instead of the doe he was engaged to. He would leave it all behind for the one he truly loved... But now, what could he do? She was kidnapped by one of the most notorious gangs in the whole city... he was powerless, like always...

Louis felt a shadow loom over him, the large presence looking down on him. He looked up to see Legosi, the wolf's face being etched with worry.

"Did something happen?" he asked. It was an innocent question. He didn't know what was going on, and he likely wouldn't understand anyway, all his friends are carnivores just like... But... Louis was his friend, wasn't he? Maybe the wolf would understand.

He sighed, looking down. The tears that he cried before had now fallen onto the ground, marking the spot of his sadness.

"Have you ever heard of the Shishigumi?..." The deer asked the wolf.

"No, I don't think I have."

Louis laughed softly, his nerves were already far beyond the breaking point.

"It's a gang active in the black market. They're a group made up entirely out of lions, formidable ones at that."

"Why are you telling me this?"

The deer wiped his face, holding out the items still grasped in his hand. The shoe immediately cleared up the situation, explaining the panic in which the deer had been. The smell of Haru was still coming from it, this happened less than fifteen minutes ago.

"...We need to call the police," Legosi said, still oblivious to how helpless they actually were. Louis still stared at the ground, laughing again at how clueless this powerful carnivore was.

"The police are powerless, just like us... The shishigumi control the black market, a large part of the police force are carnivores... And they are possibly corrupt as well." Louis's voice was weak, his mental breakdown exhausting him.

Legosi sat down next to Louis. He sighed, trying to find a way to help him... this situation was a terrible one.

Louis looked at Legosi. The wolf was troubled by this situation. No surprise really, he only used his instincts to do good. All other instinct lead carnivores were naturally repulsive to him. Louis thought to himself for a second. Never would he have thought that one day he would consider this clueless, dumb wolf a friend. How about that?

Legosi stood up, thinking about the ridiculousness of what he was about to do.

"Legosi, what are you doing..?" asked Louis as the wolf was walking away.

"Getting help... the only way I know how." replied the wolf, walking off towards the stage.

He approached the Actors Team, their practice was already finished. Bill was talking to a few dancers when he was approached by the grey wolf.

"Hey, Legosi. Did you need something?" Bill greeted him calmly and friendly. The urgency of the situation was not known by him.

"Would you mind if we talked in private?" Legosi asked, to which Bill nodded, curious to what he wanted to say.

"You have to be joking..." Bill was rubbing his forehead, trying to comprehend what Legosi had asked him to follow him into.

"So, police are out of the picture?..." Bill wanted to know if there was another way.

"yeah... Louis doesn't want to risk them being corrupt. Plus, they are mostly carnivores, so they won't go against the black market," Legosi explained with a slight tone of desperation. "Listen, Bill. I know this sounds like a suicide mission-"

"Yeah, no kidding."

"-But we have to help her... We can't let her get devoured... like Tem. We can stop them this time." Legosi's attempt at persuasion was successful enough to make the tiger look at him with empathy.

"Well then, if this kills us, at least we'll go down fighting to save a life!" The vigor of the tiger awoke with a fiery passion, the very same vigor and passion he had on stage. Legosi sent Bill to Louis to further talk over their plan. Now, there was someone else he needed to talk to...

Juno sat on the stage, she had her eyes closed, and her head was turned towards the sky, enjoying the sun shining on her face.

"Hello, Juno." His earthy scent had washed over her, she opened her eyes, looking back at Legosi.

"Hello, handsome." He smiled slightly at the compliment before taking on a more serious expression.

"Juno... I need to do something, really, stupid." He spoke with noticeable pain in his voice.

"Why? What's going on?..." The she-wolf had hopped off the stage, walking closer to him.

"Haru was kidnapped..." Juno looked at him with pure shock.

"The kidnappers were a gang of lions that control the black market... we can't tell the police, they most likely won't be able to help us." He sounded defeated.

"I know that I need to help Louis save her... they are a couple, and I can't let her die just like Tem did... alone and scared..." A look of understanding and terror came over her face.

"You can't just..." She tried to object but realized that it made no difference.

"I need to help him... plus, without him... I never would have found you at the fountain." She understood the importance of him helping his friend and saving a herbivore from another devouring. She grabbed his hand, looking into his eyes.

"If you do this... I'll go with you." Legosi looked at her, his expression turning into one of fear.

"But you could get hurt, I-I would never forgive myself if you-" she grabbed his face, pulling him closer.

"You could get hurt too. I will not leave you alone. Not now, not ever." She spoke softly, almost whispering. She gave him a kiss, and he understood that it was pointless arguing with her. In the end, they would likely need all the help they could get.

"...Ok." He sighed. "But you are going to stay close to me at every moment," he instructed her. She nodded, following him to the others.

Louis was, of course, strongly against involving Legosi and the others. In his words, "You are digging a grave for not only yourself but for them as well."

"And, you'd be digging yours by going alone..."

After a bit of convincing, it really didn't take much. The urgency of the situation already making Louis desperate for any solution.

The four made their way into the city, finding the entrance to the Black Market quickly due to Bill and Legosi already knowing the location. Bill's head dropped as they walked past the ally-way, Legosi patted his shoulder. "You resisted it before. You'll be ok," he reassured the tiger.

"Well, are you ok being here...? I mean, just look at it..."

"I'm fine. Let's just worry about saving Haru."

After asking a couple of strangers eating in the street, it became abundantly clear that no one was willing to tell them anything. The moment the word Shishigumi left their muzzles, people would turn their heads, looking the other way, completely ignoring them.

In the afternoon, dark rain clouds had begun to take up the sky, and they were still practically at square one.

"Come on, someone must be willing to tell us something..." Bill was growing frustrated as the group had walked into a dead end. "None of them want the to be involved with the Shishigumi..." Louis explained, the group turning around to go back to the main ally.

"I recommend you stop looking while you still can!"

A powerful voice stopped them in their tracks. A tall and muscular animal was standing in their way, covered in shadow. A cigarette was hanging out of his mouth.

"Who are you?" asked Legosi, walking in front of his friends. The animal smirked.

"I'm just an old therapist..."

Louis walked beside Legosi.

"Someone very dear to me... a rabbit... was kidnapped by the Shishigumi. Do you know where we might find them?"

Suddenly, his smirk turned into a face of seriousness.

"I'm sorry to inform you, but they are most likely already dead."

Louis sighed, frustrated with the situation. "You don't know that! There's still a chance. I need to try and save them... I couldn't live with myself if anything happened to her." He almost began to cry again, the pain still omnipresent.

The large animal looked over their small group. Three carnivores and an herbivore, all looking to save the life of a rabbit. Now that's something you don't see every day...

"Look, kid, I get that you want to save your friend who may or may not already be dead, but if you do what you're planning to do... it's practically suicide."

"That's a chance we're willing to take..."

The larger animal sighed. He had a strange admiration for their naivety. The sheer conviction in those deer's words was certainly powerful.

"I see now that my chances of stopping you are likely none..." As raindrops slowly began to fall, the animal finally stepped out of the shadows, revealing himself to them. "My name is Gouhin, and I will help you find the Shishigumi!"

Before the group now stood a large, muscular, and formidable panda. Suddenly, Louis felt hope again...