"Just like last year, we were invited to participate in the Harbour's festival of the meteor!"

Loud cheering echoes through the drama club, mostly by the actors and dance teams. Sanu, the ever-friendly pelican, holds up a colourful poster, which you assume is for the festival he just mentioned. A large, fiery meteor is on it, surrounded by stars, planets and a volcano.

Certainly an interesting choice for a festival.

"Of course we plan to accept," he continues.

"That's awesome," Sheila cheers, excited for the upcoming event, "We get to roam around town without an outing permit again this summer! How cool!"

"Now, remember guys, this isn't for fun! We're going there to help out with the festival." What follows is even more cheering and you wince at the annoying, loud noise. To be perfectly honest, you don't understand the appeal behind the festival, nor the city.

Cities always mean a lot of people, a lot of crowds and a lot of social confrontation. Not to mention, the air is bad as hell and there's most likely a high chance you'll run into an unpleasant person. You want to avoid the crowds and the presence of the scientists as much as possible, so you aren't exactly fond of the idea. But you'd have to go along with it.

All whilst studying for more exams....yay.

You sit in between the wolf and the anteater with the rest of the stage crew by the mirrors, with your legs stretched out in front of you. Your ankles are crossed, to avoid any accidental glimpses of your underwear underneath your uniform.

"Looks like the art department is going to be busy this year," Dom announces, as unamused as everyone else, "Why don't we discuss it in the storage room?"

In solidarity with the others, you sigh unpleasantly.

The last time you were in the storage room had been the day that you had cut yourself on a piece of metal. Said cuts had healed over the weeks, just like the claw marks on your arm and the injuries from the roses; miraculously you had managed to not get yourself injured again. The memory of the daunting experience with the metal lingers in your mind as you pass through the smaller room stacked with shelves and boxes into one as large as a warehouse.

It's brighter in here, thanks to the open ceiling windows that shines natural light onto the giant sculptures. You gasp in awe as you look at them for the first time.

Are those dinosaurs?! This is so fucking cool!

In your head, the Jurassic Park theme begins to play and without noticing, you hum along as your lips turn into a childish grin. Legoshi, being gifted with exceptional senses, obviously notices the small tune coming from your lips but he doesn't recognize it. Though even when he turns his head back to the peafowl, one of his ears is turned into your direction and secretly listening to you.

"We can't use the same sculptures again this year," Dom complains in his usual flamboyant manner.

"Why does it have to be a dinosaur anyway?" Kai asks, annoyed that he even has to be here apparently. But thankfully, he had asked the exact question you had in mind.

What the hell is the festival of the meteor? And what does it have to do with dinosaurs?!

Wait....Wait is the extinction of the dinosaurs their beginning of a certain religion or something?

"Can't we pick something easier?"

Well...there were small dinosaurs too. Even though literally everything was like a dozen times bigger, like giant centipedes!

"Dinosaurs are the ancestors of all animals. Their very existence is significant."

"That's actually incorrect but...," you mumble quietly, trying to not be rude and disrupt Dom's explanation. Unfortunately for you, a certain wolf cannot ignore you and therefore, hears your comment.

"Huh? Sorry, what was that, Y/n?" Although his voice is gentle, you still squeak and blush at being caught. Ultimately, Legoshi's question brings all the attention to you. "I-It was nothing, really."

"No, you said something and I'd like to hear it," he insists, innocently.

Legoshi, you dumb, stupidly cute wolf!

"Yeah, c'mon Y/n, say it, now I'm curious!" Dom adds, supported by agreements of the others.

"Fine, but don't get mad at me, okay!" You pout, sternly glaring at the peafowl for a second before inhaling calmly.

"T-That's actually incorrect, what you said about the dinosaurs. They weren't the ancestors of all animals. Dinosaurs are actually mainly the ancestors of birds and similar species; it's pretty obvious if you compare their bone structure with yours, Dom." You chuckle nervously, crossing your arms over your chest to keep your embarrassing trembling at bay.

"Most reptilian species already existed in some form or another during that time period, though most were a lot bigger than they are now. Sharks and crocodiles for example, especially when mentioning sharks it is crucial to remember the Megalodon, a giant shark that went extinct over time due to many factors. Reptilians and sharks, as well as insects and from my knowledge most sea-life existed before the dinosaurs. "

Once again, you begin to ramble.

"And mammals actually evolved alongside the dinosaurs but due to their enormous size, the dinosaurs couldn't survive the terrible conditions caused by the meteor crash and went extinct. The mammals and other species evolved and adapted to the extreme circumstances, which leads us to today. So, dinosaurs aren't the ancestors of all animals, mainly just of bird species."

Finally done, you glance at the group of males in front of you, finding their mouths agape in either awe or confusion. You're not sure. You are certain though, that you basically just told them that the earth is flat by the alarmed side-eye the peafowl gives the others, who shrug in response.

"Okay, moving on then," awkwardly, you cough, deciding that you should delete that moment from your memories permanently. Meanwhile, Dom continues his speech to the angry mongoose. "It all happened one summer when the meteor hit, which caused them to go extinct."

"They say it's a festival where we welcome the ghosts of extinct dinosaurs," Kibi pipes in, "But no one really cares about that. The real thing everyone's excited for is the lighting ceremony on the final day. Couples who put a lit candle on the meteor together, will live happily ever after. So they say anyway."

Ah....So basically, It's a religious festival. Great, I just disrespected their entire belief, didn't I?!

Let's hope no one burns me at the stake, like in the good ol' times.

***

You make your way back to the academy, now that the sun is beginning to set. It's engulfing the whole world in bright, warm colours, bringing you closer to the fact that before you know it, summer will burst through your window and throw you out of bed to get sunburned. Nevertheless, the colours look lovely and you smile as you walk alone by the buildings.

You had separated from the rest of the stage crew after you discussed everything in the storage room because you have a mission. You want to talk to Haru.

Of course, the mere thought of that scares you, knowing how tempered the small dwarf rabbit can get and not feeling very encouraged by her behaviour towards you. But you wanted to talk things out with her and see if maybe you two could tolerate each other. It would make school a lot less difficult and you didn't want to spend time with unnecessary quarrels.

You had died once and it took every chance from you to make amends with everyone you needed to. Who knows how long you can run from your second death, so it's better to clear everything up now, rather than later.

Wow, seems like I can be mature at times, huh?

Unnerved, you stand before the school for a few moments, bouncing on your feet once, twice. You sigh and with two light slaps on your cheeks, you catch a spoonful of bravado.

"Now or never. I need to get this over with."

Meanwhile, the boys are just now leaving the storage room, with Kai continuing his bickering.

"It's just a time for people to have some fun," Kai demeans, "the actors team will be goofing off with their boyfriends and girlfriends most of the time anyway. Who ca-"

"The dance team too!" The anteater interrupts him with his squeaky voice.

"Oh come on now, they're relying on the art department to come through."

"You guys don't get what I'm saying! They're probably putting all this extra work on us because they think we have nothing else to do on that day! Because they know all of us are single!"

"Well, maybe they should give us a break every once in a while," Fudge adds, "We've got one member who gets out of control whenever he gets angry. It's pretty stressful, especially for someone in particular."

Ever so slightly, Legoshi's ears drop to his head.

He's obviously talking about me...
and Y/n's panic attack. Even though it's been a month since that incident, things are...still a bit awkward.

"No, No, uh, we're not worried about that at all anymore, just so you know. How's your back healing?" Dom tries to fix the situation.

"It's pretty good now."

"Yeah, good, I'm glad! Let's get dinner at the cafeteria," the turquoise male proposes, hoping to ease the growing tension.

I'm....

And at that exact moment, the sweet, alluring scent of vanilla drifts his way. Abruptly, he turns his head in the direction of your scent and something inside of him tells him to follow. "Sorry, uh, I've got somewhere to be. See you later."

With hurried steps, he runs off, leaving the four confused males behind.

Geez, these poor flowers are basically dead. Whoever's in charge of them surely isn't taking any good care of them.

With slightly furrowed brows, you observe the yellow flowers, some of them already brown and near their end. You bite your lip while you ponder.

"I should take them to Haru, maybe she can get them nice and healthy again. You guys will help start a conversation for sure, so thank you for that, little flowers."

Your legs quiver as you walk through the orange-tinted halls, the warm sunlight causing your s/c skin to glow like a vibrant gem. With care and gentle hands, you carry the vase with the flowers. The knots in your stomach tighten more and more when you think about what you're planning to do, a sign that you're growing more and more anxious.

"Don't you worry, buddies, Haru will nurse back to health in no time!"

Your yelp of surprise barely leaves your lips as your feet suddenly lose footing and you fall to the ground. Glancing forward, your eyes grow wide as you see the vase broken and the flowers now dead on the ground. Although your uniform's a little wet in the front, you're not hurt anywhere, thankfully.

High-pitched, demeaning laughter rings behind you and you grit your teeth with growing rage. With a swift turn of your head, you spot the three culprits. It's the harlequin rabbit, the black cat and the other girl, whose species you don't know.

Those bitches tripped me!

"So lame!" The rabbit's Hench girls giggle, "You look so natural down in the dirt like that!"

"I guess that she only talks to flowers now, like that little slut," the black and white abomination of nature snickers," How sad! You freak!"

Should I tell these wannabe Heathers that I know how to kill each one of them? I am definitely craving rabbit stew.

Suddenly, the harlequin rabbit yanks you by the hair and you hiss at the slight pain. You're on eye-level with her now and up close, she resembles a dollar store version of Harley Quinn even more. Though troublesome, you hide your smirk because you know that you could break out of her hold with no issues but you decide to wait for the right moment instead.

Let's play a little game, shall we, rabbit?

"It's been a little while, human. We need to talk," It's almost funny how stern her voice is, like she thinks she has any authority over you," Did that slutty friend of yours talk to my boyfriend again by any chance?"

So this isn't even about me then....

"You sure got some nerve, little rabbit," you chuckle, easily ripping her hand off of you, "I take it that means you couldn't get back together with your little boyfriend then?"

"What?" She stands, looking appalled that you dared to touch her. You, on the other hand, keep kneeling and reach for the flowers, in hopes of salvaging at least one of them.

"Well, I'm not sure why you'd even bother with him, though I certainly don't blame the guy for not wanting to get back with you. But maybe you should let your anger out on him and-"

Huffing, you roll your eyes as she stomps on the flowers and nearly on your hand while she glares down at you with fiery eyes.

"Listen to me, all of this is Haru's fault! You see, the Harlequin rabbits are one step closer to extinction, all because of sluts like her! Let me guess, you enjoy destroying relationships as well, huh?! You're a slut, just like her! People like the two of you are the scum of the world! You're worthle-"

"Tell that to someone who cares."

"Huh?!" Anger burns in her eyes as she leans in towards you, "Who do you think you are?!"

You smile sweetly at her, dusting off your uniform.

Then, you stand up.

With a growing smirk, you watch the anger turn to fear as she sees you tower over her with your 5'5". Snickering condescendingly, you stroke one of her ears and she flinches in response.

"You really shouldn't insult people you don't know. You never know who might be higher up on the food chain than you are, little harlequin. You never know who might want to eat you for dinner."

Satisfied with her fearful reaction, you take a step back and retract your hand from her ear. This time, your smile is soft and real.

"What's your name?"

"W-What?"

"Your name," you repeat, "What is it?"

"Mizuchi," she answers, her eyes igniting with that headstrong flame once more and you chuckle when you catch her glare.

"I'm Y/n. Now, let me give you some advice when it comes to love, Mizuchi. A partner that cheats rarely stops doing so. If it hadn't been Haru, it would have been someone else; Haru was just available to your little boyfriend."

You hold the eye contact and observe as her eyes become moist and the small glimmer of hurt shines through, hidden behind the ferocity.

"You deserve a lot better than some cheating whimp who doesn't love you because if he did, then he wouldn't have cheated. I know you're the only Harlequin rabbits at the school but you should really dump him, he's not worth your time. Once school is done, you'll have the whole world open for you and plenty more harlequin males. School romances rarely last long anyways. And even if you fall in love with someone other than a Harlequin rabbit, it's a thousand times better than staying with that dimwit. Your species doesn't define you and you don't carry the burden to continue some kind of Legacy."

Once more, you step forward and stroke her ears, ignoring the heavy blush on her cheeks as she holds her fists to her mouth in an adorable pose. "And let's be honest, that guy was definitely a negative digit in the bedroom. Pretty sure I could give you a far better orgasm than he ever could with my tongue alone."

She gasps and her eyes sparkle as you lean down to meet them. You smile and pet her head. "Take care, Mizuchi, okay?"

She's quick to nod only for her eyes to grow even wider when she glances behind you; her Hench girls tremble in fear as well and all of them huddle together.

"Oh, I nearly forgot," you giggle, which catches their attention and they stare at you," Stay away from my friend. I'm sure you don't want to make me angry, right?" They nod rapidly and look behind you again.

Not even a second later, they're sprinting down the hallway.

You hear her screaming "Run Y/n!" before they're out of sight and earshot. Your brows furrow when you register the eyes staring at the back of your head and confused, you turn around.

Only to come face to face with a tall, blushing grey wolf.

"Oh hey there, Legoshi. How long have you been standing there?" 

****

Hello there, my homies! I hope you enjoyed Chapter 18! I'm sorry that I didn't upload yesterday, truth be told I needed sleep. Writing and editing usually takes me about 3-4, hours and most of it is done in the night because I have terrible organizing skills :)

So, sorry that I didn't upload.

Now, we are slowly introducing the festival arc. Who's excited?

I definitely am. In the next chapter, Haru will make an appearance again and that is surely going to be interesting.

Also, we hit 6k reads so, congratulations readers, yall are fulfilling my wildest dreams here! It's honestly more than I could have hoped for because when I started this story, I thought I'd get a few hundred reads at a slow pace and eventually work my way up to the thousands after like a couple of months but nah, y'all are spoiling me! We are legitemately in the top three of #beastars, I am fucking  proud of us!

I really love y'all homies (･ัω･ั)

Now, apologise but I couldn't do my girl Mizuchi wrong. In the anime at least, she's not the nicest person (obviously) but she's so fucking cute! So when I wrote this, my pan heart took over and my inner top came out so.....enjoy the MC's dirty jokes :)

I hope y'all are safe and healthy in this time of crisis!

See you in Chapter 19!