Chapter Text
“Here we are, Kentaro!” a large adult female moose said.
“Okay, Mom!” a young male moose replied. “Thanks for the ride!”
The female moose smiled. “No problem, sweetie!”
Ten-year-old Kentaro the large Alaskan Moose had just gotten a ride from his mother to his elementary school on a Friday morning, which was a school for both carnivores and herbivores.
Kentaro unbuckled his seat belt and opened the door. “See you later, Mom!”
“Wait, Kentaro!” Kentaro’s mother said. “You forgot your good-bye kiss!”
Kentaro rolled his eyes. “Aw, Mom, come on. I’m a little too old for that now, don’t you think?”
Kentaro’s mother wagged her finger. “Nonsense, Kentaro! You’re never too old for a goodbye kiss!”
Kentaro folded his arms. “Beg to differ, Mom.”
Kentaro’s mother grabbed Kentaro, pulled him in close, and kissed him on the cheek!
“H-Hey!” Kentaro said, glowering at his mother.
“There!” Kentaro’s mother said, letting go of him. “All done!”
Kentaro frowned and wiped the kiss off his cheek. “Aw, Mom, gross! You didn’t have to force it on me like that!”
Kentaro’s mother giggled. “Sorry! I couldn’t resist!”
Kentaro chuckled. “Well, I guess I can let it slide this time.” He got out of the car and waved. “Okay, see you later, Mom!”
Kentaro’s mother waved back. “Bye, sweetie!”
Kentaro closed the door and walked to the entrance of the school. Then, he made his way to his fifth-grade homeroom, where there were plenty of herbivore and carnivore students, most of which Kentaro was larger than. He entered the room and walked towards the back of the room, where his best friend Enji the large Roosevelt Elk was sitting.
Enji had been Kentaro’s best friend ever since the fourth grade. He was also a large herbivore like Kentaro, being only two inches shorter than him.
“Hey, Enji!” Kentaro said, sitting down next to him.
“Hi, Kentaro!” Enji replied, grinning wide.
“What’s up?”
“Nothing much. You?”
“Same.”
“So, did you study for the math test today?”
Kentaro shook his head. “Nope.”
Enji blinked. “S-Seriously?”
“Seriously.”
Enji grimaced and folded his arms. “Kentaro, how irresponsible of you!”
Kentaro shrugged. “Well, I tried to study, but I got bored and watched some anime instead.”
Enji shook his head. “That’s hardly an excuse!”
“I know. I’m not saying it is. I’m just telling you what happened.”
Enji sighed. “Whatever. Look, Kentaro, you need to take your studies more seriously.”
Kentaro frowned. “Aw, but Enji, school is boring as hell!” He leaned back in his chair and put his feet up. “Besides, it’s not like we’re gonna need this crap later in life.”
“You never know, Kentaro. It wouldn’t hurt to know a couple of math formulas for managing your finances, for example.”
Kentaro looked away and waved his hand dismissively. “Yeah, yeah, yeah.”
“Anyway, since you didn’t study for the test, I’m going to give you a quick math study session.” Enji reached into his backpack and looked for his math textbook and notebook.
Kentaro looked at Enji. “What?”
“There’s still a bit of time before class starts. We can get a bit of studying done now.”
Kentaro’s eyebrows rose slightly. “You want to study with me right now?”
Enji smiled and nodded at Kentaro. “Yeah! And since we’re going to take the math test at the end of the school day, we’ll have some time to squeeze in a few more study sessions! Ooh, we can even study during recess!”
Kentaro frowned. “Aw, but I don’t wanna study!”
Enji stopped smiling and raised an eyebrow. “Well, do you want to fail?”
Kentaro sighed. “No.”
Enji smiled. “Good! Then no complaining!” He got out his math textbook and notebook. “Now let’s get started!”
Kentaro groaned and put his legs down from the desk. “Fine, fine, whatever.”
A few weeks later…
Kentaro and Enji were in their class on a Monday morning. Their teacher, a cow, had just finished giving a lecture on math about multiplying and dividing fractions and had just passed out some papers.
“Okay, class!” she said. “Now I want you all to get into pairs and complete the assignment! You can choose whoever you want to work with!”
Everyone in the class started looking for partners.
A leopard who was sitting on Kentaro’s right looked at Kentaro. “Hey, Kentaro, you wanna work with me?”
Kentaro grinned. “Sure, Hideji! I don’t mind!”
Enji gasped. “Kentaro! I wanted to work with you!”
Kentaro frowned. “Oh, sorry, Enji, but Hideji asked me first.”
“Aw, but we always work together!”
“I know, but…I think it’s okay if we have different partners just this once.”
Enji had no response.
Kentaro put a hand on Enji’s shoulder and smiled. “Anyway, I’m sure you can find a good partner!”
Enji sighed, his ears drooping slightly. “I guess.”
Kentaro turned his attention to Hideji. “Hopefully, you’re better at math than I am, Hideji, heh heh heh!”
“Oh, no sweat, Kentaro!” Hideji replied. “I’m great at math!”
“Sweet! Okay so, I get how to multiply fractions, but dividing them confuses me.”
“Oh, I can explain that!” Hideji placed his notebook between him and Kentaro and started writing in it. “So what you do is…”
Enji sighed. Great, he thought. Now, who am I supposed to work with?
Suddenly, he felt someone tap on his shoulder. He turned around.
A gray wolf was holding the math assignment in his hand and was looking at Enji. He was a few inches shorter than Enji. His tail was wagging a bit, and he had a big smile on his face. “Hey, there!” he said.
Enji jumped in his seat. “Wah!”
The gray wolf blinked. “Oh! I-I’m sorry! Did I startle you?”
“U-Uh, y-yeah, a little.”
The wolf frowned, and his ears drooped. “Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to.”
“Oh, um…” Enji rubbed the back of his neck. “I-It’s okay. Don’t worry about it.”
The wolf smiled, and his ears straightened. “Okay! Anyway, your name is Enji, right?”
“Y-Yes, it is. And you’re, uh…um… S-Sorry, I forgot what your name was.”
“Oh, that’s okay! My name is Ikuro!”
“Oh, that’s right. Ikuro.”
“Yep! So Enji, you wanna partner up on this assignment?”
Enji raised his eyebrows in surprise. “Huh? You want to partner up with me?”
“Yeah! That won’t be a problem, will it?”
Enji was sweating quite a bit. He was looking at Ikuro’s fangs. Man, those fangs are really scary!
Ikuro stopped smiling. “Is there something wrong?”
“U-Uhhh…” Enji shook his head. “N-No, there’s n-nothing wrong.”
Ikuro cocked his head. “Are you sure?”
“Y-Yeah.”
“Oh. Well, okay. So, can we be partners?”
“Ummmm… S-Sure.”
“Oh, really?”
Enji tried to smile. “Y-Yes. That’s fine.”
Ikuro beamed. “Great!” He sat down next to Enji, scooted closer to him a bit, and put the math assignment on the table.
Enji tensed up a bit at having a carnivore sitting right next to him.
“So, how do you wanna tackle these math problems?” Ikuro asked. “Wanna do them together or separately?”
“S-Separately is fine,” Enji answered.
“Okay! Which problems do you wanna do?”
Enji rubbed his neck. “Uhhh, I g-guess I can do the f-first ten problems.”
Ikuro gave Enji a thumbs-up. “Cool! I’ll do the other ten, then!”
“O-Okay.”
Ikuro got started working on the problems. Enji did the same…or at least attempted to. For a while, he glanced at Ikuro every so often…particularly at Ikuro’s fangs and claws.
Enji was fidgeting. Man, carnivores are scary! Just look at those fangs! And those claws! They’re so sharp! He shuddered. Those things scare the heck out of me! I hope they never touch my body!
He shook his head and went back to working on the math problems…only for Ikuro to lean close to him and grab his shoulder.
Enji jumped again. “Ack!” he shouted.
“Oh, sorry, man!” Ikuro said. He chuckled. “I didn’t mean to startle you again!”
Enji nervously laughed. “I-It’s okay.”
“I was just wondering. How do you divide fractions again?” Ikuro pointed at a problem on Enji’s paper.
Enji tensed up a bit. Oh, Rex! His claws are close to my hand!
“This problem right here is causing me issues.” Ikuro grinned at Enji, his fangs quite visible. “Could you walk me through it, please?”
Enji smiled nervously. “U-Uhhh, s-sure!” He looked at Ikuro’s hand, which was still on his shoulder. “But, um, c-could you take your h-hand off my sh-shoulder?”
“Huh?” Ikuro looked at his hand. Then, he chuckled. “Oh. Sorry. I didn’t realize I was still touching you.” He took his hand off.
“Oh, i-it’s okay.” Enji paused. "Um, c-could you also, uh, s-scoot back a little?"
Ikuro blinked. "You…want me to scoot back?"
"J-Just a little. I’m p-pretty big on p-personal space, you see."
"Oh. Uh, okay, then." Ikuro scooted to the side a bit.
"C-Could you do it a bit m-more, please?"
Ikuro raised an eyebrow. "You want me to move over some more?"
"Y-Yeah. I-If that's okay."
"Uhhh, all right." Ikuro moved over a bit more.
"A little more, please?" Enji asked.
Ikuro raised both eyebrows. "Even more?"
"Yeah."
Ikuro was silent for a moment. Then, he sighed and moved a bit more.
Enji gave Ikuro a thumbs-up. "There! You can stop! That's perfect!"
Ikuro scratched his head. "Uhhh, okay. If you say so."
Enji held up his assignment. "A-Anyway, let me explain how to divide fractions now! You see…"
He explained the process to Ikuro.
"Oh, okay, I get it now!" Ikuro said, smiling. "So, to multiply two fractions, all you just do is flip the second fraction and multiply that new fraction by the first fraction!"
"That's right!" Enji replied, nodding. "So, for this problem, the flipped second fraction would be…"
"Four over one!"
"And if you multiply that by the first fraction, which is one-half, the answer would be…"
"Four over two!"
"Yes! Which can be rewritten as…"
"Two!" Ikuro beamed. "Wow! I finally get how to divide fractions! Thanks a bunch, Enji!"
"No problem, Ikuro!" Enji replied.
"Hey, are you done with your problems?"
"Almost."
"Cool! I'll go ahead and finish the rest of my problems, then!"
Enji nodded.
Ikuro went back to solving his math problems.
Enji finished up the rest of his problems. Afterwards, he decided to let his mind wander while Ikuro was finishing up his work.
Enji saw that Kentaro and his partner Hideji were still working on the problems together. They seemed to be enjoying each other's company. They were even laughing together. At one point, Hideji put his hand on Kentaro’s shoulder, and Kentaro didn't seem to mind.
Enji frowned. I don't get it. I just don’t get it. How is Kentaro not bothered at all by carnivores touching him? How is he not unsettled by sitting right next to them? How is he not afraid of them at all? He sighed. I wish I were like that. I don’t like being afraid of carnivores.
Shortly after that, Ikuro finished his math problems. He turned to Enji. “Hey, Enji! I finished my math problems!”
Enji turned to Ikuro and smiled. “Great! Let’s exchange our answers!”
“Okay!”
Ikuro and Enji told each other their answers.
“All right, that’s everything!” Enji said. “We’re done here!”
“Cool!” Ikuro said. He held out his hand. “Nice doing business with you, partner! Great work!”
Enji leaned back a bit and smiled anxiously. “U-Uhhh, th-that’s okay.”
Ikuro blinked. “Huh? You don’t want to shake my hand?”
Enji shook his head. “C-Claws make me nervous, heh heh.”
Ikuro frowned, and his ears drooped. “Oh. I see.”
Enji frowned and held up his hands defensively. “N-No offense.”
Ikuro sighed. “Don’t worry. I get it.” He took his assignment from the table and got up from his seat. “I’m…going back to my seat now.”
“O-Okay.”
Ikuro walked away and sighed. Just great. Another herbivore is scared of me.
Enji watched Ikuro walk away. He sighed. S-Sorry, Ikuro…
A week later…
Kentaro and Enji were in class on a Wednesday afternoon. Their teacher had just finished a science lecture and had given everyone an assignment to complete. Everyone could work alone or together in groups of up to four.
Kentaro and Enji paired up, as usual. Just when they were about to start working on the assignment, a large bear who was Kentaro’s height and a tiger who was Enji’s height walked up to them.
“Hey, guys!” the bear said, smiling.
“Oh, hey!” Kentaro said, smiling back.
“Would it be okay if we worked on the assignment with you guys?” the tiger asked.
Kentaro nodded. “Sure, why not–”
“Um, Kentaro!” Enji said, putting a hand on Kentaro’s shoulder and smiling nervously. “C-Could I talk to you for a second?”
Kentaro looked at Enji. “Huh? Uh, sure. Okay.”
Enji looked at the others. “E-Excuse us.”
“Uh, okay,” the bear said.
Enji and Kentaro turned away from the bear and the tiger and started whispering to themselves.
The bear looked at the tiger, who only shrugged.
“What’s up, Enji?” Kentaro said.
“Let’s…not work with them,” Enji replied.
“What? Why?”
“Well, because, y-you know…”
Kentaro raised an eyebrow. “No, I don’t know.”
Enji sighed. “Well, th-they’re…carnivores…”
Kentaro scowled. “Really? That’s why you don’t wanna work with them?”
Enji scratched the back of his head. “Uh, y-yeah.”
Kentaro’s scowl became more intense. “Dude, what the hell?”
“What?”
“That’s so uncool!”
“Well, th-they have fangs and claws, Kentaro!” Enji explained. “Those make me really nervous!”
“Not me!”
“I know that, but how do they not make you nervous?”
“I dunno! They just don’t! And they shouldn’t make you nervous, either!”
“But…some carnivores use their fangs and claws to hurt us herbivores.”
“Yeah, some of them! Not all of them! It’s not fair to treat them all like that!”
Enji looked away. “I-I’m not saying it is, but…I just can’t help but feel…cautious around them.”
Kentaro folded his arms. “Well, I think you’d be a lot better off if you stopped feeling that way for once! It’s not healthy!”
Enji sighed. “Y-Yeah, you’re right. I’m sorry.” He looked at Kentaro. “But please, Kentaro. Let’s just...work on the assignment by ourselves.”
Kentaro shook his head. “Tch, no way!”
Enji clasped his hands together. “Kentaro, please. Just this once. I won’t be able to focus on the work otherwise.”
Kentaro took a moment to think about Enji’s request. Then, he sighed. “Fine, whatever!” He held up a finger. “But just this once!”
“Thank you, Kentaro. Truly.”
“Yeah, yeah.” Kentaro looked at the bear and the tiger. “Hey, uh, fellas? We’re…just gonna work on this assignment by ourselves.”
The bear and the tiger raised their eyebrows in surprise.
“Oh, you are?” the bear said.
“Yeah,” Kentaro said. “We think two people is enough in our group.”
“Oh,” the tiger said, frowning. “Well, okay.”
The bear frowned. “Bummer.”
Kentaro rubbed the back of his neck. “Yeaaaah... S-Sorry about that.”
The bear smiled. “Ah, it’s okay. We’ll just find other people to work with.”
Kentaro grinned. “Okay. Welp, see you fellas later!”
The tiger smiled and waved. “See you later!”
“Yeah, later!” the bear said, waving.
The tiger and the bear walked off.
Enji breathed a sigh of relief and smiled. “Glad that’s taken care of! Now then! Let’s work on the assignment!” He started flipping through his science textbook.
Kentaro grimaced slightly at Enji. Must this guy always be afraid of carnivores? It’s so annoying!
One Thursday evening after school, Kentaro and Enji opted to head to Kentaro’s house after school to hang out and do homework together. On the way back home, they decided to stop at a grocery store. Now, they were in the aisle where bags of chips and pretzels were sold.
Enji was looking through the shelves. “Hmmm. I can’t find the chips I want.”
Kentaro looked at Enji. “Oh, really?”
“Yeah,” Enji replied, frowning. “Darn it. I really wanted those chips, too.”
Kentaro shrugged. “Sorry, man.”
Enji looked at Kentaro and sighed. “Me, too.”
Shortly after that, a green, scaly hand touched Enji on the shoulder.
“Excuse me?” a low, raspy, male voice said.
Enji turned around and saw that the hand belonged to a large, heavyset crocodile who was six-foot-one. The crocodile was wearing an employee’s uniform.
Enji screamed.
The crocodile and Kentaro jumped in surprise. “Whoa!” they both said.
Enji ran behind Kentaro and started shaking in fear.
“Uhhhh…” the crocodile said.
Kentaro looked at Enji. “Enji, what’s gotten into you?”
“That guy is r-really b-big and s-scary!” Enji replied.
The crocodile frowned.
Kentaro scowled. “Enji, that was rude!”
The crocodile sighed. “It’s all right. I’m used to it by now.”
Kentaro looked at the crocodile in surprise. “You are?”
“Yeah. I tend to scare herbivores with my looks.”
Kentaro frowned. “Oh. Well, that sucks.”
“Yeah, but what else can you do about it? Not much.” The crocodile shrugged. “Anyway, I just wanted to ask if your friend needed help in finding an item.”
Enji stopped shaking. “You…wanted to help me find an item?”
“Yeah. I saw that you were having trouble looking for something on the shelves, so I thought I’d come over and help.”
Enji frowned. “O-Oh. I see. I-I’m sorry about screaming at you earlier.”
The crocodile smiled. “It’s okay. I understand. Anyway, what was the item you were looking for?”
Enji mentioned the name of the brand of the chips he wanted.
“Oh, so you’re looking for that brand,” the crocodile said. “Hang on a sec. Let me see if we have any more bags in the back.”
Enji nodded. “Okay.”
The crocodile walked away from the area and headed to the storeroom.
Kentaro gave Enji a disapproving look. “That wasn’t cool, Enji.”
“Well, can you blame me?” Enji responded. “That guy really did look big and scary!”
“He can’t help the way he looks. Besides, you offended him.”
“Well, I didn’t mean to! It just sort of…happened. I’m sorry.”
Kentaro fell silent.
“Look, Kentaro, I know it might be hard for you to understand, but…I can’t help but be afraid whenever I see a big carnivore with fangs and claws. My instincts just make me freeze up in fear.” Enji sighed. “I don’t want to be like this. I just…am.”
Kentaro frowned.
Enji turned away. “Anyway, I know I messed up. Let’s just…drop the subject.”
Kentaro sighed. “All right.”
Soon, the crocodile returned with the bag of chips that Enji wanted.
Enji gasped. “My chips!”
The crocodile smiled. “Yep! This was the very last bag in stock!”
“Oh, wow!” Kentaro said, smiling.
“Anyway, here you go!” the crocodile said, handing the bag over to Enji.
“Wow, thank you, sir!” Enji said.
“No problem! Is there anything else you need help with?”
Enji shook his head. “No, that will be all!”
“Oh, okay. Welp, have a good day, you two!”
“You, too, sir!” Enji and Kentaro said.
The crocodile nodded and walked away.
“Let’s go pay for our stuff now, Kentaro!” Enji said.
“Okay!” Kentaro said.
Enji and Kentaro started walking over to one of the registers.
While they were heading to the register, Kentaro looked at Enji and frowned. Poor guy, he thought. It’s painful seeing him so afraid of big carnivores, let alone carnivores in general. I wish he’d stop feeling that way.
On a Tuesday afternoon, Kentaro and Enji, now in the sixth grade, were playing “Go Fish” outside during recess. They were sitting near a tree outside.
“Got any fives?” Kentaro asked.
Enji shook his head. “Go fish.”
Kentaro picked up a card from the pile. He looked around. “You know, it’s such a nice day today.”
“Yeah,” Enji replied, smiling. “It sure is.”
“Hey, you know, we oughta go to the park later today!”
Enji frowned. “Kentaro, you know we have schoolwork to do.”
“Yeah, but it’s gonna rain tomorrow, and I don’t wanna wait until the weekend to go to the park.”
Enji put his hands on his hips and gave Kentaro a disapproving look.
Kentaro sighed. “Fine, fine, we can go another day.”
Enji smiled. “Good.”
“What the fuck did you just say to me!” a male voice said.
Kentaro’s and Enji’s ears perked up. They looked at where the voice came from.
In the distance, a young lion was staring down a young tiger, who was slightly taller than him. Several students were surrounding them.
“You heard me!” the tiger replied. “I called you a pussy!”
“Take that back right now!” the lion yelled.
“No!”
“I said take it back!”
“And I said no, pussy!”
The lion growled.
“That…doesn’t look good,” Kentaro said.
“At this rate, they’re going to hurt each other!” Enji said. “It could get really messy!”
Kentaro put down his cards and stood up.
Enji looked up at Kentaro. “Kentaro? What are you doing?”
“I’m going to put a stop to that fight.”
Enji's eyebrows rose. “Wh-What? Why?”
“Well, someone has to do it.”
Enji started sweating a bit. “B-But, Kentaro! They’re both carnivores!”
Kentaro folded his arms. “Yeah, I’m aware of that.”
“You could get hurt!”
“I’ll be fine, Enji. Besides, I’m bigger than the both of them. I can take care of myself.” Kentaro started heading towards the lion and the tiger.
Enji gasped. “K-Kentaro! Wait!”
Kentaro ignored him.
Enji quickly got up, dropping his cards in the process. Then, he ran after Kentaro. “Kentaro! Kentaro, I said wait!”
“Motherfucker!” the lion said, clenching his fists. “I oughta beat your ass for that!”
The tiger smirked. “Oh, just try it, pussy!”
Kentaro stood next to the two big cats. He towered over the both of them by a few inches. He smiled. “Hey, guys, come on. Let’s not fight here.”
The lion glared at Kentaro. “Piss off, moose! This doesn’t involve you!”
Kentaro scowled. “Excuse me?”
“You heard what I said! Blow off!”
“Yeah!” the tiger said. “This ain’t your fight!”
Enji reached Kentaro and stood next to him.
“Look, I’m just trying to keep the peace,” Kentaro explained. “That’s all.”
“Well, we don’t care!” the lion said. “Now, piss off, you big, dumb moose!”
Kentaro raised his eyebrows in surprise.
“Ooooooh!” the crowd said.
Oh, dear, Enji thought, sweating a bit.
Kentaro gritted his teeth. “All right, now look, you! You’d better watch your mouth!”
“Or else what, big nose?” the lion said. “You ain’t gonna do shit!”
“What!” Kentaro said. “Big nose!?”
The lion smirked. “That’s right, moose!” He pointed at Kentaro. “You have a big nose, heh heh!”
“Yeah!” the tiger said, chuckling. “It’s the biggest one I've ever seen!”
“Same here, heh heh!” the lion said.
“H-How dare you!” Kentaro said.
This is only getting worse and worse! Enji thought. I have to do something! He pulled on Kentaro’s sleeve. “Uhhhh, K-Kentaro? M-Maybe we should just leave.”
“Yeah, you should!” the tiger said, grimacing. “This is a fight between us carnivores! You herbivores stay out of it!”
“Fuck that!” Kentaro said. “You assholes disrespected me!”
The lion smirked. “Oh, boo hoo! Did we make the big guy cry? Well, too bad! Now for the last time, screw off!”
“Like hell I will!”
Suddenly, the lion shoved Kentaro hard! This caused all the spectators to gasp.
“Kentaro!” Enji said.
“Did you just push me, you little shit!” Kentaro shouted.
“Well, it wasn’t the wind!” the lion retorted.
Kentaro growled.
Enji pulled on Kentaro’s sleeve even harder. “K-Kentaro, I really think we should leave now!”
“Screw that, Enji!” Kentaro shouted, pulling his arm away. “This asshole pushed me! He’s gonna pay for that!”
The lion snorted. “Like I’m afraid of you! You may be bigger than me, but you’re still an herbivore!”
“The hell is that supposed to mean!?”
The lion put his hands on his hips. “Exactly what I said, ya idiot! You’re no match for us carnivores!”
Kentaro started walking over to the lion.
Enji was shaking and sweating bullets at this point. Oh, this is not going to end well! he thought.
Kentaro was now in front of the lion. He was looking down at him. “You wanna bet on that?”
“Yep!” the lion said. He pushed Kentaro again!
The crowd gasped again.
“Kentaro!” Enji said.
Kentaro growled loudly. He walked over to the lion once more.
The lion scoffed. “Like I said, you ain’t gonna do shit–”
Kentaro suddenly grabbed the lion’s shirt!
“Wh-What!?” the lion uttered.
Kentaro started spinning the lion around and around! The lion screamed!
Everyone in the crowd gasped again.
Then, Kentaro threw the lion over the crowd and quite far!
The lion landed on his face. “Ow!” he cried out.
Enji’s face had turned white. Everyone else’s jaws dropped.
Kentaro glared at the tiger, who was now sweating a lot.
The tiger nervously grinned. “U-Uhhh, I j-just remembered!” He pointed to the school building. “I have to go to the restroom!” He bolted, pushing through the crowd.
Kentaro folded his arms. “Hmph! That takes care of that!” He started walking away.
Anyone in Kentaro’s way quickly moved aside.
Enji was still shocked at what had just happened. It took him a few moments to snap out of it. He saw Kentaro walking back to the tree that they had been sitting near earlier. “K-Kentaro!” he shouted. He ran after Kentaro. “Kentaro, wait!”
Kentaro stopped and turned around.
Enji reached Kentaro. “Kentaro, what did you just do!”
“You saw what happened! I taught that lion a lesson!”
“B-But you were supposed to stop the fight, not escalate it!”
“Yeah, well, those cats were the ones who started it! One of them even pushed me! Twice!”
“Y-You didn’t have to throw him, though!”
“Well, he had it coming! Next time, he won’t piss off a damn moose that could easily wreck his shit!”
“But Kentaro! Those felines had sharp claws! What if you’d been scratched by them?”
“Well, I wasn’t, so it’s fine!”
“That’s not the…!” Enji sighed. “Kentaro, look. You have to be careful around carnivores!”
“Why? I’m bigger and stronger than most of them!”
“I know that, but you still have to be careful around them! They could still do serious damage to you!”
Kentaro scoffed. “Let them try that shit! I’ll be damned if I ever let them lay a single claw on me!” He continued walking to the tree. “Now come on. Let’s finish our card game already.”
Enji sighed and facepalmed. This guy is so stubborn! he thought.
On a Thursday night, Kentaro and Enji, both in the seventh grade, were at Enji’s house in his living room, sitting on a couch and watching a Western animated show called “The Adventures of ElectroElk.” It was about a large elk who had the ability to generate and manipulate electricity. The show was in American English, and Kentaro and Enji had opted not to use Landspeak subtitles.
[[EPISODE START]]
In the show, an armored vehicle was transporting money to a bank on a nice, summer day in a big city. The drivers were a large gray wolf and a smaller brown coyote. They were having a conversation about what they were going to do over the weekend.
Suddenly, a very large, muscular bear appeared out of nowhere and stepped onto the road! He was wearing a bright-red sleeveless outfit that had a blue circular logo with the white letters “BB” on it. He was also wearing a green mask and had two large duffel bags slung over his shoulders. A sinister smile was on his face.
The two canines gasped.
“Oh, my god!” the coyote said, pointing at the bear. “It’s BoulderBear!”
“Holy shit!” the gray wolf shouted. He suddenly slammed the brakes.
However, at this rate, BoulderBear was still going to get hit! But then, he did the unthinkable and held his arms out in front of him in an attempt to stop the truck!
The truck collided with BoulderBear! BoulderBear was now being pushed back a fair distance, his feet dragging on the ground, but he soon managed to use his overwhelming strength to stop the truck!
The gray wolf’s and brown coyote’s faces had turned white, and their heartbeats were through the roof. After several seconds, they snapped out of their state of shock and looked over the dashboard of the car. They saw that BoulderBear was nowhere to be seen!
“Huh?” the wolf said. “Where’d he go?”
“I don’t know!” the coyote replied.
“Hey, fellas!” a deep, rumbling voice said.
The canines’ ears perked up. They looked to their left.
BoulderBear was standing right by the driver’s window. He was smirking and waving at them.
“Oh, no!” the coyote said, covering his mouth.
The wolf pulled out his gun and pointed it right at BoulderBear. “F-Freeze! D-Don’t move, or I’ll shoot–”
BoulderBear grabbed the underside of the truck with one arm and lifted it with a mighty yell! The truck fell on its side!
The wolf and coyote screamed.
BoulderBear laughed. “Welp! That takes care of them! Now to get the goods!”
He went to the back of the truck and opened the doors. Plenty of pallets of stacks of bills were inside.
BoulderBear squealed in glee. “So much cash! And it’s all mine!” He clasped his hands together and rubbed them. “Welp, time to dig in!”
Suddenly, a large ball of electricity struck BoulderBear from behind!
BoulderBear’s body spasmed for a moment. “Gah!” he uttered.
“Couldn’t wait for it to get to the bank, huh?” an adult male voice said.
BoulderBear turned around.
ElectroElk was standing several feet away. He was wearing his classic one-piece yellow suit, with blue gloves, blue boots, a red utility belt, and a blue mask over his eyes. And, he was smiling and dramatically posing with his hands on his hips. As usual.
BoulderBear growled. “You! Get the hell outta here! You’re in my way!”
“Not a chance, bear!” ElectroElk retorted.
BoulderBear clenched his fists. “This is your last warning, elk! Leave!”
“Not gonna happen!”
BoulderBear growled. “Fine, elk! Have it your way!”
He jumped up high into the air and attempted to land on ElectroElk and strike him with his fist! ElectroElk jumped out of the way, and BoulderBear hit the ground with incredible force, causing a large crater to form around him!
ElectroElk generated a ball of electricity in his right fist and aimed it right at BoulderBear, who jumped out of the way. ElectroElk fired two more projectiles from his fist at BoulderBear, who dodged both of them. BoulderBear tried to jump and land on ElectroElk again, but he missed and made another crater on the ground.
At this point, the wolf and coyote managed to get out of the truck. They saw that a fight was happening between ElectroElk and BoulderBear.
“Oh, ElectroElk is here!” the coyote said, smiling.
The wolf grinned. “Oh, thank goodness!”
At one point, BoulderBear saw a gray car nearby. He grabbed it and threw it right at ElectroElk, who jumped out of the way. The car hit the ground, rolled forward, and crashed right into the side of a building! Fortunately, no one in the area got hit, but there were several screams from bystanders!
ElectroElk looked at the car in alarm. Shit! he thought. I’d better end this fight quickly, or people could get seriously hurt!
Then, ElectroElk generated large amounts of electricity in his hands. He clapped his hands and sent a beam of electricity right at BoulderBear. BoulderBear jumped out of the way. The beam of electricity hit the streetlight nearby and overcharged it. The bulb ended up shattering from the sudden charge!
“All right, elk!” BoulderBear shouted. “I’ve had enough of this crap!” He turned to the right, grabbed a streetlight, and pulled it right out of the ground! Then, he swung it right towards ElectroElk!
ElectroElk ducked. “Whoa!” he said.
BoulderBear swung at ElectroElk again. ElectroElk ducked once more. BoulderBear swung again. ElectroElk jumped up to avoid the pole.
BoulderBear growled and proceeded to swing at ElectroElk repeatedly. “Damn it!” he said. “Hold still, you annoying-ass deer!”
ElectroElk had no problems avoiding all of BoulderBear’s swings. He even taunted BoulderBear after each missed swing. “Nope! Sorry! Nuh-uh! Too slow! Try again! Is that all you’ve got? My grandmother swings harder than you!”
BoulderBear started fuming. “That’s it!”
He began to spin around rapidly towards ElectroElk!
“Whoa!” ElectroElk said. He jumped up onto the side of a building nearby and scaled it to the top.
Shortly after that, BoulderBear’s swinging slowed down quickly. He started feeling dizzy. “Ughhhhh…” Then, he stopped swinging and grabbed his head, his eyes spinning like crazy. “My head’s…spinning…”
ElectroElk raised his eyebrows. “Wait, he’s vulnerable!” He smirked. “Now’s my chance!”
The hero jumped right off the building and high into the air, generating electricity in his fist. He was about to land on top of BoulderBear and deliver a brutal electric punch!
BoulderBear recovered from the dizziness, shaking his head. Then, he looked up and saw ElectroElk coming right at him from above. He sneered. “Heh, heh! Batter up!”
BoulderBear readied the streetlight and proceeded to swing it right at ElectroElk! The streetlight hit ElectroElk in the face and caused him to fly right into a building! He crashed through a wall and into the break room of a grocery store! He tumbled for a bit and landed on his back. All the employees inside the room screamed.
“Oh, no!” the coyote shouted, covering his mouth with his hands.
“BoulderBear just hit ElectroElk with a streetlight!” the wolf said, putting a hand on his head.
BoulderBear laughed. “Bullseye! Welp, that takes care of him! Now to get that sweet, sweet cash!” He started walking towards the bank truck, dragging the streetlight behind him.
The wolf and the coyote were shivering in fear. They both took out their weapons and pointed them at BoulderBear.
"S-Stop!" the wolf ordered.
"D-Don't you take another s-step or we'll shoot!" the coyote said.
BoulderBear stopped walking. "Oh, you don’t want me to take another step?" He smirked. "All right, then! Fine by me!"
BoulderBear readied the streetlight behind himself.
"Wait, what's he doing?" the wolf said.
Then, BoulderBear swung the streetlight forward towards the armored truck!
The coyote’s and the wolf’s faces turned white.
"Oh, shit!" the coyote said.
"Get back in the truck!" the wolf yelled.
The two canines quickly reentered the vehicle…and just before the streetlight came crashing down on them! It hit the vehicle with great force, causing it to shake!
"Aaah!" the canines screamed.
BoulderBear swung back the streetlight and then swung it forward again! It hit the armored truck again! The canines screamed.
BoulderBear kept hitting the vehicle with the streetlight, laughing maniacally while doing so!
Back in the break room in the grocery store, ElectroElk had been lying on his back for a few moments. “O-Owwww,” he said, rubbing his face. He slowly sat up. “That really hurt.”
ElectroElk looked around and saw that multiple people were staring at him in utter shock. He blinked. “Oh!” Then, he blushed, smiled nervously, and scratched the back of his head. “S-Sorry! Didn’t mean for that to happen!”
Everyone else had no response.
ElectroElk quickly got to his feet. “Anyway, I gotta run! There’s a crazy, super strong bear out there on the streets destroying everything!” He waved. “See ya later!” Then, he ran towards the giant hole in the wall and jumped down onto the sidewalk.
All the employees were still in utter shock. A few of them slowly approached the giant hole in the wall in order to take a look at what was going on.
ElectroElk looked around for BoulderBear. He saw the bear repeatedly slamming the streetlight into the armored car. The canines were still inside, all curled up.
"This bear’s insane!" the coyote shouted.
"Yeah, no kidding!" the wolf yelled. "What the hell do we do now!?"
ElectroElk raised his eyebrows. Wow, BoulderBear is really beating the hell out of that car! I should hurry and do something! But what? He put a hand on his chin. Hmmm… He snapped his fingers. Hey, wait a minute! I've got an idea! BoulderBear’s holding a streetlight, which is made of metal! He smiled. And metal conducts electricity!
BoulderBear was still laughing and hitting the armored car with the streetlight. "Ha ha ha! You mutts are utterly pathetic!"
"Hey, bear!" ElectroElk shouted.
BoulderBear stopped hitting the armored car with the streetlight. He turned around and sneered. "Well, well, well! If it isn’t the annoying deer again! Looks like I didn't hit you hard enough!"
"I'm not that weak, you know!" ElectroElk started punching the air. "Besides, I've been having too much fun with you! I'm ready for round 2!"
BoulderBear chuckled. "Suit yourself, deer!"
He readied the streetlight and began to execute an overhead swing right towards ElectroElk! But then, ElectroElk grabbed the end of the streetlight with his hands!
"H-Huh?" BoulderBear said, his eyebrows rising.
"Hey, bear!" ElectroElk said.
"What?"
ElectroElk winked. "Sweet dreams!"
Then, ElectroElk generated a huge amount of electricity in his hands and sent it right down the streetlight! Before BoulderBear could react, his body was pumped full of electricity! He started screaming, stuttering, and spasming a lot! Even his fur stood on end!
After several moments of being zapped, BoulderBear fainted and fell on his back.
The two canines climbed out of the car. They saw that BoulderBear was unconscious.
“Oh, wow!” the wolf said. “ElectroElk did it!” He looked at the coyote and smiled. “He took down BoulderBear!”
“Yes!” the coyote replied, raising both fists. “The day is saved!”
ElectroElk sighed and wiped his forehead. “Finally! It’s about time that fight ended!”
"Thank you, ElectroElk!" the canines shouted, waving at him.
ElectroElk grinned wide and waved back. "Not a problem!" he shouted.
Some time passed. Several police cars, a firetruck, and an ambulance were on the scene and were blocking off the area. Several police officers were talking to the wolf and the coyote from earlier, as well as other witnesses. A few other officers had BoulderBear in handcuffs and were taking him away. The firemen, paramedics, and some of the other officers were dealing with the damage in the area caused by BoulderBear.
The two remaining officers, a lion and a black bear, were talking to ElectroElk.
“Thank goodness you were here, ElectroElk!” the lion said, grinning.
“Yeah, you really came through for us!” the black bear said, smiling. “Thank you!”
“Yeah, thanks!” the lion said.
ElectroElk grinned. “No need to thank me, officers! Just doing my duty!” He frowned. “I just wish BoulderBear hadn’t caused so much damage.”
“It’s all right, ElectroElk,” the black bear said. “No one seems to have gotten hurt.”
“Yeah,” the lion said. “Besides, if you hadn’t been here, BoulderBear would have stolen all that money!”
“Yeah!” the black bear said. “And who knows what else could have happened if you hadn’t been here!”
ElectroElk smiled. “Fair point! Well, officers, I’m off!” He waved. “See you later!”
“See you later, ElectroElk!” the officers replied, waving.
ElectroElk took out a grappling gun from his utility belt. Then, he aimed it at the top of a building. A hook tied to a trail of wire came out of the gun and attached itself to the edge of the building. Then, the gun carried ElectroElk up to the edge of the building. He climbed up over the edge. Next, he turned around and jumped onto one of the power lines nearby. He generated electricity in his feet. Then, he skated down the power line and left the area.
“And that’s the end of today’s episode!” the narrator said in a voice over. “See you all in the next one!”
The credits started playing as the camera panned over the scene of the fight.
[[EPISODE END]]
Kentaro looked at Enji and grinned. “That was a great episode, Enji!” he said to him in American English.
“I know!” Enji replied in the same language. “I was on edge the whole time!”
“Same! BoulderBear doesn’t play around!”
“Yeah! Can you imagine getting hit by his punches?”
“I don’t think I could! And getting hit by that streetlight looked hella painful for ElectroElk!”
“I know!” Enji paused. "Hey, Kentaro?"
"Yeah, Enji?"
"Thanks for teaching me English all this time. I’m really glad I can enjoy watching the show in its original language."
Kentaro put a hand on Enji's shoulder. "No problem, buddy! I was happy to help!"
"I've learned so much thanks to you."
"I'll say! Your English has definitely come a long way! Hell, you sound almost exactly like a native speaker! I don’t even think most people could tell the difference!"
"Y-You really think so?"
"Yep! I'm serious! Your accent and grammar are amazing!"
Enji blushed. "W-Wow! I'm so flattered! Thanks, Kentaro!"
Kentaro gave Enji a thumbs-up. "You're welcome!"
Enji looked at a window nearby. The sun had almost completely set. “Oh, dear! It’s almost dark!” He looked at Kentaro. “Kentaro, you’d better get going home!”
Kentaro frowned. “Aw, but I wanna stay and watch more of this show with you!”
Enji shook his head. “We can watch more of it later. You shouldn’t stay any longer. You don’t want to be out there once it gets dark.”
Kentaro leaned back and put his arms behind his head. “Eh, I’m not worried.”
Enji frowned. “Seriously, Kentaro? You still have that blasé attitude after all this time?”
“Yup.”
“You know that we herbivores can’t see in the dark very well!”
“Yeah, I know.”
Enji grimaced. “Then you should be worried! You might run into a carnivore!”
“Tch, most carnivores would be stupid enough to pick a fight with me.”
Enji shook his head. “Not when it’s dark, Kentaro! That would give them the perfect opportunity to attack you!”
“So I’ll just clobber them if they try anything.”
“That’s still going to be hard to do when you can’t see very far, you know!”
“Yeah, but it’s not impossible. Besides, the walk to my house isn’t that far.”
Enji looked at Kentaro disapprovingly and folded his arms.
Kentaro sighed and rolled his eyes. “All right, all right.” He stood up. “I’m going.”
Enji got up and smiled. “Good.”
Kentaro and Enji headed to the front door.
Kentaro opened it and stepped through. He turned around and waved. “Bye, Enji!”
Enji waved back. “Bye, Kentaro!”
Enji closed the door. Kentaro started walking home.
Kentaro and Enji were now in the eighth grade. Sometime during the fall on a Friday morning, Enji had arrived at school. He was currently heading towards his homeroom.
At one point, Enji saw a restroom nearby and went inside. Then, he went inside a stall and did his business. After that, he went to the sink to wash his hands. He dried them off with a few paper towels from the dispenser nearby.
Suddenly, a large, gray cougar came into the restroom. He was about four inches shorter than Enji. He saw Enji and smirked. “Well, well, well, if it isn’t the brainiac!”
Enji’s ears perked up. He looked at the cougar and frowned. “O-Oh. H-Hey, Daizen.”
“Hey! Bet you’re all ready for the big science test today, aren’t ya?”
“Uh, y-yeah, I am.”
“Of course you are, nerd!” Daizen chuckled.
Enji anxiously looked at the exit for a moment. “Well, I-I should be going now.”
He tried to walk past Daizen, but Daizen stood in his way.
“And where do you think you’re going, egghead?” Daizen said, grimacing.
“U-Uh…to class?” Enji replied.
“Nope! I’m not done talking to you!”
A bead of sweat formed on Enji’s forehead. “L-Look, Daizen, I don’t w-want any t-trouble.”
“I do!” Daizen held his hand out. “Now hand over your lunch money!”
“B-But I need it!”
“Well, I don’t care! Hand it over!”
Enji started sweating bullets. “D-Do I really have to?”
“Yeah, you do!” Daizen pounded his right fist into his left palm. “Unless you want me to pound your face in!”
“Aaah!” Enji clasped his hands together. “D-Daizen, please! I really need that money!”
Daizen snarled. Then, he grabbed Enji’s shirt!
“Aaah!” Enji yelled.
Next, Daizen turned and slammed Enji into a nearby wall!
“Oof!” Enji uttered.
“I’m not going to ask you again, nerd!” Daizen said. “Hand over your lunch money! Now!”
Enji was shaking all over. “D-Daizen, stop! You’re h-hurting me!”
“Oh, I haven’t even begun to hurt you! You’re gonna regret not handing over your lunch money!” Daizen drew back his fist.
Enji gasped.
“Say your prayers, ner–”
Suddenly, someone grabbed one of Daizen's ears and started pulling on it!
“Owww!” Daizen said.
Enji looked at the person who had grabbed Daizen’s ears. He gasped. “Kentaro!”
Daizen raised his eyebrows in surprise. “K-Kentaro? You’re here?”
Kentaro, who was six inches taller than Daizen, was angrily staring at him. “You have until the count of three to let go of my friend before I yank your ear off. One, two…”
Daizen quickly let go of Enji.
“Good,” Kentaro said. He let go of Daizen’s ear. “Now apologize to him for what you just did.”
“Uhhh, s-sorry about h-hurting you,” Daizen said sheepishly, his ears drooping.
“Oh, um, i-it’s okay,” Enji said.
“Good,” Kentaro said. “And if you ever do that to him again, I will pop you. Understand?”
Daizen nodded.
“All right, then. Now get the fuck outta my sight.”
Daizen started walking towards the door.
“Faster!” Kentaro yelled.
Daizen picked up the pace and bolted through the door.
“Hmph! Twat!” Kentaro looked at Enji and began speaking to him in English. “Are you okay, Enji?”
“Y-Yeah, I’m fine,” Enji replied in English.
“Good. But you know, you were a lot bigger than him. You could have fought him off just fine.”
“M-Maybe, but he was a large carnivore.”
“And so what? You’re a large herbivore, just like me.”
“Kentaro, we’ve been through this. Carnivores have fangs and claws. Herbivores don’t.”
“Doesn’t mean you can’t fight carnivores off.”
Enji looked away. “B-But their fangs and claws are exactly what scare me. I don’t wanna risk getting hurt by those.”
Kentaro crossed his arms. “So you think it’s better to just roll over and let yourself get pushed around?”
“No, I…" Enji sighed. "Look, Kentaro. I'm not like you. Most herbivores aren't like you. We can't just stand up to a carnivore without a second thought. Carnivores scare us."
"Yeah, I know. And it's dumb and frustrating as hell. I get that carnivores have fangs and claws and shit, but most wouldn't even dream of hurting an herbivore."
Enji looked at Kentaro. "Yeah, but some of them do."
Kentaro grimaced. "What, you mean that asshole who tried to take your lunch money? He was just an exception!"
Enji shook his head. "Not just him. Some of them…prey on herbivores."
"Yeah, but those are just freaks! They don't count!"
"B-But, Kentaro–"
“Look, Enji, I get it. Carnivores can be dangerous. I’m not gonna pretend that they can’t be. But I don’t wanna live my entire life in constant fear of them, either.”
Enji was silent.
Kentaro put a hand on Enji’s shoulder and sighed. “Look, Enji. I just…don’t want you to be like all those other herbivores out there who are always scared of carnivores. I want you to be stronger. I want you to be able to stand up for yourself.”
Enji sighed. “I know, Kentaro. It’s just…hard.”
“Well, it doesn’t have to be.” Kentaro grinned. “After all, you have me to help you out, don’t you?”
“Yeah, but we’ve been best friends for years, and I’m still not nearly as fearless as you.”
“Eh, that’s okay. You’ll get there eventually.”
“You really think so?”
Kentaro nodded. “Of course!”
Enji smiled a bit. “Okay.”
“Anyway, I gotta use the restroom real quick. Once I’ve finished, we can head to class.”
“Okay, Kentaro.”
Kentaro went into one of the stalls, closed the door, and began to do his business.
Enji looked at the floor and sighed. Who am I kidding? he thought. There’s no way I’ll ever be as strong as Kentaro.
It was a Saturday afternoon. Kentaro and Enji were at an arcade. They were playing a two-player game called “Hop Step Frenzy,” which involved stepping on a bunch of arrows on a large mat in time with the music. Both players were neck and neck in terms of scoring.
"Damn, you're good!" Kentaro said, smirking. "But you’re not gonna win against me, elk!"
"We'll just see about that, moose!" Enji retorted, sneering.
Soon, the match was finished. Kentaro got a score of approximately 1,800,000 points. Enji’s score was roughly 1,700,000 points.
“Yes!” Kentaro said, doing a fist pump. “I won!”
Enji frowned. “Aw, man! I lost!"
Kentaro put a hand on Enji’s shoulder. “Aw, it’s okay, Enji. That was a really close match! You almost had me there!”
Enji smiled. "Yeah, I did, didn't I?"
"Yep! Good game!"
"You too, Kentaro!"
Suddenly, Enji saw a female Fallow Deer nearby. She was playing a rhythm game with drums.
Enji gasped. “Oh, my god!” he said.
“What is it?” Kentaro said.
“It’s Tazuko!”
“Tazuko? That girl in our homeroom class?”
“Yeah!” Enji pointed at her. “And she’s right over there!”
Kentaro looked at Tazuko in the distance. “Oh, yeah. It is her.”
Enji sighed happily. “Yeah. Right there in the flesh.”
Kentaro smiled at Enji. “So go talk to her.”
Enji looked at Kentaro in surprise. “What?”
“You’ve been crushing on her, haven’t you? Why not ask her out?”
“I-I can’t!”
“Why not?”
“B-Because I’m not ready! I-I wouldn’t know what to say to her!”
Kentaro sighed and rolled his eyes. “You say that every time you have a crush on a girl. Look, man, it’s not that hard. Just say, ‘I wanna go out with you.’”
Enji looked away and started sweating a bit. “I-I can’t say that!”
“Why not? It doesn’t seem hard to say.”
Enji covered his face with his hands. “B-B-Because I’m just too shy!”
Kentaro sighed. “Of course you are. Fine, then. I’ll just go and ask her for you.”
Enji looked at Kentaro in alarm. “Wh-What!?”
“Be right back.” Kentaro started walking away.
Enji ran after Kentaro and put his hand on Kentaro’s shoulder. “Stop, Kentaro!”
Kentaro stopped walking. “What is it now?”
“Y-You can’t just tell her I wanna go out with her!”
Kentaro folded his arms. “And why not?”
“Because I–”
“‘...don’t want her to know I have a crush on her’? Yeah, I’ve heard that a lot, too.”
Enji was silent.
“Come on, man. Just ask her out. You’ll save yourself a lot of trouble getting it over with instead of wondering what could have been.”
Enji looked away. “B-But I’m afraid–”
“‘...that she’ll say no’? Yeah, I know you are. Look, even if she rejects you, there’s plenty of other girls out there. You’ll be fine.”
“B-But…”
“Look, man. I don’t wanna hear any more excuses. You gotta learn to be more confident, so I’m gonna help you out.”
“H-How?”
Kentaro flashed a toothy grin. “Easy! Either you ask her out, or I’ll do it!”
Enji’s eyebrows rose. “Wh-What?”
“You heard me, Enji! If you don’t ask her out right now, I’ll do it!”
Enji’s jaw dropped. “S-Seriously?”
“Seriously!”
Enji started fidgeting. “B-But, Kentaro–”
Kentaro held up his hand. “I don’t wanna hear it! I’m not changing my mind, Enji!”
“But!”
Kentaro pointed at Tazuko. “You’d better get going!”
“But!”
Kentaro looked over at Tazuko. “Hey, Tazuko!”
Enji quickly covered Kentaro’s mouth and pulled him in close!
“Mmph!” Kentaro uttered.
“Shh, shh, shh!” Enji said, glaring at Kentaro. “All right, all right, all right! I’ll do it, you big mouth!”
Kentaro smirked at him. “Good.”
Enji let go of Kentaro and sighed. “Welp, here goes nothing.” He started walking towards Tazuko but stopped halfway there. He looked back at Kentaro.
Kentaro gave Enji a thumbs-up.
Enji sighed again. What have I gotten myself into? He looked at Tazuko and gulped. Okay, Enji. You can do this. No chickening out now.
Enji continued walking over to Tazuko, who had just finished playing a song on the rhythm drum game she was using. He stopped when he was right behind her. He towered over her by four inches.
“H-Hey, Tazuko,” he said.
Tazuko turned around. She smiled upon seeing Enji. “Oh, hey! Uh, Enji, was it?”
Enji smiled nervously. “Uh, y-yeah, that’s me. I’m, uh, in your homeroom.”
“Right! Now I remember! So, what’s up?”
Enji rubbed the back of his neck. “U-Uh, I-I was just wondering if y-you’d, um, uh…”
“Yes?”
Enji started sweating a bit. “I-If you’d, uh, l-like to, um…”
“Mm-hmm?”
Enji was sweating bullets now! And shaking, to boot! “Uh, u-um, y-you see, m-maybe we c-could, i-if you want, I-I’d like to, i-if it’s okay…”
Tazuko raised an eyebrow. “Enji, are you okay?”
Enji nodded furiously. “Y-Yep! Never better!”
“A-Are you sure? You’re sweating a lot.”
“Y-Yeah! I’m totally sure!” Enji gulped and pulled on his shirt collar. “Uh, i-is it hot in here, or is it just me?”
“I…don’t feel hot.”
“O-Oh. I-I guess i-it’s just me, heh heh!” Enji frowned. Oh, Rex! I’m a total mess! I can barely even speak!
Kentaro was watching the whole event unfold. Oh, no, he thought. This isn’t going well. Maybe this really was a bad idea. He sighed. I’d better go over there and help him. He started walking over to Enji.
Enji tried his best to smile. “A-Anyway, um, a-about what I was g-gonna ask you...”
“Yeah, what were you going to ask me?” Tazuko said.
Enji looked away. “U-Uh, I j-just w-wanted to know i-if we could, uh, y-you know–”
Kentaro put a hand on Enji’s shoulder, which made Enji jump in surprise.
“H-Huh?” Enji said. “Kentaro?”
Kentaro grinned at Tazuko. “Hey, Tazuko!”
Tazuko smiled. “Oh hey, Kentaro!”
“Enji here just wanted to know if you’d like to go out with him!”
Tazuko blinked. “Oh.” She looked at Enji. “Is this true?”
Enji nodded sheepishly.
Tazuko smiled. “Oh! Well, why didn’t you just say so?”
Enji grinned wide. “Oh! So, you’ll go out with me?”
Tazuko shook her head. “No.”
Kentaro’s eyebrows rose a bit.
Enji’s face turned white. “Wh-What?”
Tazuko frowned. “Sorry. You’re a nice guy and all, but I’m not interested.”
Enji frowned. “O-Oh. I see.”
Kentaro looked at Enji and frowned. Well, ouch, he thought.
Tazuko smiled. “I appreciate the interest, though!”
Enji smiled a bit. “Y-Yeah. No problem.”
“Anyway, I’m gonna play on a different machine,” Tazuko said. She waved. “See you guys later!”
“Yeah, see you later!” Kentaro said, waving back.
“S-See you later, Tazuko,” Enji said.
Tazuko left the area.
Kentaro watched her walk away. He frowned. “Well, dang. So much for her.”
Enji didn’t respond to that. He still looked a bit shocked and disappointed.
Kentaro looked at Enji. “Hey, I’m sorry it didn’t work out for you, buddy.” He smiled. “But, at least you told her how you felt, right?”
Enji hung his head in disappointment. “Y-Yeah.”
Kentaro patted Enji on the back. “It’s okay, man! Like I said, there’s other girls out there! You’ll find the right one eventually!”
Enji sighed. “Yeah, I hope.”
Kentaro put a hand on Enji’s shoulder. “Aw, don’t be like that! Cheer up! Look, how about this? Since you actually tried to ask a girl out for a change, I’ll reward you! How does ice cream sound?”
Enji’s ears perked up. He looked at Kentaro. “Ice cream?”
“Yeah! I don’t mind treating ya! Besides, I figured it would make you feel better!”
Enji smiled. “That…actually sounds nice.”
Kentaro put his arm around Enji’s shoulders. “Well, what are we waiting for, then? We’ve spent enough time here already. Let’s go get some ice cream!”
Enji nodded. “Okay! Thanks, Kentaro!”
“Anytime, buddy!”
It was a Saturday afternoon. Kentaro and Enji, now in the ninth grade, were in the city, walking to a movie theater close by.
“Man, I can’t believe we’re gonna see the new ElectroElk movie!” Kentaro said.
“Me neither!” Enji replied. “I’ve been dying to see it!”
“Same! I’m so hyped! Especially since it’s in 3D!”
“I know! Just think of all the special effects we’ll see!”
“I know, right? This movie’s gonna be great!”
“Totally!”
Kentaro and Enji were now walking by an alleyway. Suddenly, Kentaro’s ears perked up. He stopped in his tracks.
Enji stopped walking, too. “Huh? Kentaro? What’s up?”
“Do you hear that, Enji? It sounds like two people talking in the distance.”
Enji tried to listen for the sounds. “Oh, you’re right! I hear it, too!”
“Hmmm. One of the voices sounds like a feline’s.”
“Yeah. And if I were to guess the other’s voice, it sounds like a rabbit’s, I think.”
“Uh-huh.”
Enji and Kentaro were silent for a few moments, listening intently to the conversation. Then, they gasped.
“It sounds like the rabbit’s being threatened by the feline!” Kentaro said.
“Yeah!” Enji responded. He looked down the alleyway. “Looks like the sounds are coming from that alleyway!”
“Then there’s no time to lose!” Kentaro said.
He was about to run down the alleyway, but Enji stopped him by grabbing his arm.
“Wait, Kentaro!” Enji said.
“What is it, Enji?” Kentaro replied.
“Th-That feline could be dangerous!”
“But that rabbit could be in trouble!”
“B-But what if the feline is really big, like a tiger or a lion?”
“That’s a risk I have to take! Besides, I can defend myself against them better than a rabbit can!”
“But Kentaro!”
Kentaro scowled. “Look, Enji, we’re wasting time! If you don’t wanna come with me, fine, but if you’re not gonna help, then stay outta my way!”
Before Enji could respond, Kentaro yanked his arm away and started dashing down the alleyway!
“Kentaro!” Enji called out, extending a hand towards him.
Kentaro ignored him and kept running.
Enji put his hand down and sighed. “Damn it.” He went after Kentaro.
Kentaro soon came across a four-way intersection in the alleyway. He stopped and listened for the sounds of the rabbit and the feline. Then, he turned to the right and headed in that direction. Next, he rounded a corner, came across a dead end, and was met with quite a surprise.
There was indeed a rabbit in the area. He seemed to be a Dutch rabbit, which was a medium-sized rabbit breed. He was being pinned to the wall by a large, tan jaguar, who was two whole heads taller than him! The jaguar was even baring his fangs at the rabbit, who was shaking in fear!
“P-Please!” the rabbit said. “J-Just give me more time!”
“You’ve had enough time, runt!” the jaguar shouted. “And you’re still short on cash!”
“I-I’m sorry! That’s really all I have! H-Honest!”
“Not good enough! I warned you what would happen if you didn’t pay in full!” The jaguar drew back his hand and bared his claws!
The rabbit gasped as his eyes widened.
“Time to finish this!” the jaguar said.
The rabbit closed his eyes. “Aaaaah!”
Before the jaguar could move, Kentaro grabbed him from behind!
“Ack!” the jaguar said.
The rabbit opened his eyes. “Huh?”
Then, Kentaro spun the jaguar around and slammed him into a wall!
“Oof!” the jaguar uttered.
The rabbit gasped. “Wh-What the…!?”
Kentaro had the jaguar pinned against the wall and was glaring at him. He towered over him by several inches. Enji was standing several feet away.
A moose? the rabbit thought. What’s he doing here?
“What the hell do you think you’re doing with that rabbit, jaguar!” Kentaro said.
The jaguar scowled. “Look, moose, stay out of it! This has nothing to do with you!”
“I don’t give a shit! You were about to hurt an herbivore! Why!”
“Tch, like I’m gonna tell you shi–”
Kentaro suddenly punched the wall right next to the jaguar’s head with such force that he created a large hole!
Enji and the rabbit jumped in surprise.
“Whoa!” the jaguar said.
“Oh, my god!” Enji said.
H-Holy crap! the rabbit thought.
“I’m not gonna ask you again!” Kentaro said. “Why the hell were you about to attack that rabbit!”
The jaguar started shaking. “H-Hey, man! Ch-Chill out! I was just t-trying to get some p-payment outta him!”
“Payment?”
“Y-Yeah! See, the rabbit owes me quite a bit of money!”
Kentaro cocked his head. “H-He does?”
“Yeah! I’m a loan shark, and that rabbit borrowed a lot of money from me and my company. And he was supposed to pay us today.”
Kentaro and Enji looked at the rabbit. The rabbit looked away in shame.
“But, he was a bit short on money, so I got mad,” the jaguar continued. He smiled. “See? That’s all it was! Just a heated conflict!”
Kentaro scowled at the jaguar. “Like hell it was! You were about to use your claws on that rabbit!”
The jaguar had no response to that.
“What the hell is wrong with you!” Kentaro said.
“I-I just wanted some payment, but the rabbit didn’t have enough cash!” the jaguar replied.
“Not getting enough payment is not a reason to hurt other people!”
“B-But you don’t understand! M-My boss really wanted the cash, and he takes these loans v-very seriously! Wh-What else was I supposed to do? Come back with l-less than the full amount? My boss is a very s-scary man, and I didn’t wanna disappoint him! You gotta understand!”
Kentaro was silent.
The jaguar sighed. “It’s already hard enough being a debt collector. I have to deal with people constantly not giving me enough cash.” He looked at the rabbit. “Like that rabbit over there.”
The rabbit was still looking away. He blushed.
Kentaro looked at the rabbit and the jaguar. Then, he frowned. Well, shit. What…am I supposed to do now?
Enji walked up to Kentaro and the jaguar. “Um, if I may?”
“Huh?” Kentaro said. “Enji?”
“You said the rabbit was a bit short on money, right?” Enji asked the jaguar.
“Y-Yeah, he was,” the jaguar responded.
“How much?”
“Uh, about 3,000 yen.”
Enji reached into his pocket and counted his money. He held it out for the jaguar to take. “I think this should cover it.”
Kentaro, the jaguar, and the rabbit gasped.
“E-Enji!” Kentaro said. “That’s your movie theater money!”
“I know, but I think the jaguar and the rabbit need it more than I do,” Enji replied.
The rabbit was speechless.
“Y-You’re giving me your own cash?” the jaguar said.
“If it’ll settle the rabbit’s debt,” Enji said, smiling.
The jaguar had no response.
Kentaro grinned and nodded at Enji. Then, he looked at the jaguar. “Well, what are you waiting for? Take the cash!”
The jaguar hesitated for a bit. Then, he took the cash from Enji. “Uhhh, th-thanks.”
Enji nodded. “You’re welcome!”
Kentaro let go of the jaguar. “Okay, you have your money now. I take it we’re done here?”
“Uh, y-yeah, we are,” the jaguar said, pocketing the cash.
“Good. Now off you go.”
The jaguar rubbed his neck. “R-Right. Uh, s-see ya.” He started walking away.
The rabbit walked up to Enji. “You…gave up your cash just to save me.”
Enji smiled. “Well, you were in trouble, so I thought I would help.”
The rabbit grinned wide. “Thank you! Thank you so much!”
“It was my pleasure!”
The rabbit looked at Kentaro. “And thank you, big guy! You really saved me back there!”
Kentaro smiled. “No problem, man! I wasn’t just gonna sit by and watch you get clawed!”
“I really appreciate that!” the rabbit said. “You both saved me!”
“Think nothing of it!” Enji said. He paused. “Though I do have a question, if you don’t mind my asking.”
“What is it?” the rabbit said.
Enji frowned. “How…long have you been dealing with those loan sharks?”
The rabbit took a moment to respond. “For quite a while. I’d say several months.”
“Really?” Kentaro said.
“Yeah.”
“How did this happen?” Enji asked.
The rabbit sighed. “I borrowed a bunch of money I shouldn’t have, and I didn’t spend it wisely.” He rubbed his face with his hands. “And now I’m paying the price for it.”
Kentaro frowned. “Oh, man. I’m so sorry.”
“Me, too,” Enji said, also frowning.
The rabbit shook his head. “Don’t be. It was my own damn fault.”
“But I still hate that you have to go through this,” Enji said. “No one deserves being hounded by loan sharks.”
“I appreciate the sentiment,” the rabbit said.
“So, how far along are you with paying off your debt?” Kentaro inquired.
“Oh, uh, I’m about halfway there.”
“Oh, really?” Enji said. He smiled. “Well, that’s good!”
Kentaro grinned. “Yeah! It looks like you’ll get there someday!”
The rabbit smiled. "Yeah, that’s what I'm hoping for! Anyway, thanks again, guys!"
"You're welcome!" Kentaro said. "Say, what's your name, anyway?"
"Oh, I’m Jun," the rabbit answered.
"Hey there, Jun!" Kentaro said. "I'm Kentaro, and this is my buddy Enji!"
Enji waved. "Hello!"
Jun waved back. "Hi! Nice to meet you guys!"
"You, too!" Kentaro said.
"Hey, you guys look pretty young," Jun remarked. "Are you in high school?"
"Junior high, actually," Enji said.
"Yeah, we're in our last year," Kentaro added.
"Oh, nice!" Jun said. "I remember junior high. I had some good memories there. I made plenty of friends. High school was great, too."
"Cool!" Enji said. "I hope we enjoy high school just as much as you did!"
"Me, too!" Jun said.
"Now whaddaya guys say we get outta this alleyway?" Kentaro said.
"Okay!" Jun and Enji said.
All three herbivores made their way out of the alleyway, chatting with each other along the way. Then, they stepped onto the sidewalk.
"Well, I should get going," Jun said. "It was nice talking to you guys!"
"Yeah, you too!" Kentaro said.
"I'll never forget what you guys did for me. I can’t thank you enough."
"Not a problem!" Enji said.
"Yeah, we were happy to help!" Kentaro added.
"Welp, see you later, Jun!" Enji said, waving.
"Yeah, see you later!" Jun replied, waving back.
"Bye!" Kentaro said.
"Bye!" Jun said. He walked away.
"I'm happy we helped that poor rabbit," Enji said.
"Me, too," Kentaro said. He patted Enji’s shoulder. "Now come on! Let’s go catch our movie!"
"But wait, Kentaro. I gave away my money, remember?"
"I know, but I have enough to get us two tickets."
Enji’s eyebrows rose slightly. "What? You do?"
Kentaro nodded. "Yup! We won't be able to get any snacks, but at least we can still watch the movie together!"
Enji smiled. "Great! Thank you, Kentaro!"
Kentaro gave Enji a thumbs-up. "No problem, buddy!"
It was a Tuesday afternoon. Kentaro was in the middle of working on a geography assignment with Enji in class.
At one point, Kentaro decided to use the restroom. He stood up from his seat. “Hey, Enji, I’m gonna go to the restroom. I’ll be back.”
“Okay, Kentaro,” Enji replied.
Kentaro left the classroom and started making his way towards the nearest bathroom. On the way there, he came across two students, a small Roe deer and a large black bear, who was a few inches shorter than Kentaro.
The black bear had the Roe deer pinned against the wall and was laughing at him. The Roe deer was struggling to break free.
“Let go of me, you big, stupid bear!” the deer shouted.
“No way, runt!” the bear responded. “It’s too much fun watching you squirm!”
What the hell? Kentaro thought.
“Now give me your lunch money!” the bear said.
“Screw you!” the deer replied. He spat in the bear’s face!
"Ack!" the bear said.
Kentaro raised his eyebrows in surprise.
The bear wiped the spit off his face and looked at it on his hand. Then, he growled at the deer. “You’re gonna pay for that, squirt!”
The bear punched the deer in the stomach hard!
“Ack!” the deer said, dropping to his knees.
Kentaro gasped. “Oh, no!” he said.
The bear bent over, grabbed the deer’s shirt collar, and pulled the deer up. “Now, for the last damn time, give me your lunch money!” he said with a slight growl in his voice.
“And for the last time, piss off!” the deer replied.
The bear growled. “That’s it!” He drew back his fist. “You’re gonna get it now–”
Suddenly, the bear’s hand was slapped hard!
"Ow!" the bear said, dropping the deer. He rubbed his hand. "What the–"
Before he could finish his sentence, let alone look at the person who had slapped his hand, he was grabbed and thrown a far distance into the wall behind him!
“Ack!” he said upon colliding with the wall. He fell to the floor and landed on his stomach. “Oof!”
The deer blinked. Then, he looked up at the person who had thrown the bear. H-Huh? he thought.
The bear looked at his attacker and scowled. “Y-You! What the hell are you doing here!”
“Stopping a prick like you from hurting this deer!” Kentaro replied.
The bear got up. “Get out of the way, moose! This does not involve you!”
“No!”
The bear clenched his fists. “I’m warning you, moose! Move before I take you out!”
“No!”
“I said move!”
“And I said no!”
The bear growled. “Fine! Have it your way! But don’t say I didn’t warn you!”
Kentaro got in a fighting stance. “Bring it on, bear!”
The bear ran towards Kentaro and drew back his fist. Once he was close, he tried to punch Kentaro in the face. Kentaro sidestepped the attack and countered with a strong punch to the bear’s face, sending him staggering backwards!
“Ow!” the bear said.
The deer gasped.
The bear glared at Kentaro. “H-How dare you!”
He started charging at Kentaro again. When he got close, Kentaro readied his right leg and delivered a powerful kick forwards to the bear’s stomach! The bear was sent flying a few feet and landed on his back!
“Ow!” the bear shouted.
Whoa! the deer thought.
The bear slowly got up, clutching his stomach. “D-Damn you!” he said. He looked to his right and saw a desk and a chair nearby. He grabbed the desk and hurled it right at Kentaro!
Oh, no! the deer thought, raising his eyebrows.
Kentaro grabbed the desk with ease and set it aside.
The bear growled. Then, he grabbed the chair nearby and threw it at Kentaro! Kentaro caught the chair easily, too.
“Screw this!” the bear yelled.
He dashed towards Kentaro again. Kentaro waited until the last possible moment and then threw the chair right in the bear’s face, causing it to break into pieces!
The bear flew backwards once more and fell on his back. His face was now bruised and bloody in a few areas. He grabbed his face in pain. “Owwwww!”
The deer winced. Ooh, that had to hurt!
“Had enough, bear?” Kentaro said.
The bear gave Kentaro an icy glare and slowly stood up. “N-No! I’m not f-finished with you yet! This ends here!”
The deer sighed and shook his head. This idiot just doesn’t know when to quit, does he?
The bear got on all fours and sped off towards Kentaro. When he was close, he jumped at Kentaro with his claws out!
The deer gasped.
Kentaro quickly grabbed the bear’s arms and tossed him over and onto the floor! He landed on his back with incredible force!
“Agh!” the bear cried out.
The deer’s jaw dropped. Holy crap!
Kentaro walked over to the bear’s side, squatted down, and grabbed the bear’s neck. “Give up,” he said through gritted teeth. “Now.”
“Ack!” the bear said. “Okay! Okay, okay, okay! You win! You win!”
“Good,” Kentaro said. He pointed at the deer. “Now apologize to the deer.”
The bear scowled. “Screw that! Like I’m ever gonna–”
Kentaro drew back his fist.
The bear gasped. He put his hands up. “Wait, wait, wait! Okay, okay, I’ll apologize!”
Kentaro lowered his fist. “Good.”
The bear looked at the deer. “I’m…sorry.”
The deer blinked. Then, he folded his arms and looked away. “Fine, whatever. I guess I can forgive you…but just this once.”
“Good, you apologized,” Kentaro said. “I’m gonna let you go now. Do us both a favor and get the hell out of our sight.”
“Y-Yeah, of course!” the bear said, nodding a lot.
Kentaro let go of the bear’s neck and stood up.
The bear slowly got up and started walking away. He rubbed his nose, which was bleeding. Damn, that moose was strong! he thought. I’m staying far, FAR away from him!
Kentaro and the deer watched the bear walk away. Then, Kentaro looked at the deer, who was still on the ground. He walked over to him and extended a hand. The deer looked at the hand.
“Are you okay, man?” Kentaro asked.
The deer blinked. Then, he grimaced. “Hmph!” He stood up on his own and dusted himself off. “I didn’t need your help!”
Kentaro raised his eyebrows in surprise. “What? That bear would have pummeled you if I hadn’t stepped in!”
The deer folded his arms. “Well, I didn’t want you to come and save me! That was my battle, not yours! You should have butted out!”
Kentaro grimaced. “Hey! That’s no way to treat someone who helped you!”
“Tch, I don’t need to be lectured by the likes of a total meathead!”
Kentaro growled and clenched his fists. “You ungrateful little twerp! How dare you!”
“Next time stay out of my business!” The deer stuck his tongue out and walked away.
Kentaro watched him leave. What…the hell is his problem? he thought. He sighed and shook his head. Then, he went off to find the nearest restroom.
Kentaro was back in class with Enji. He had just finished telling Enji about the fight he'd had with the black bear.
“Wow, you went and did all of that, Kentaro?” Enji said.
“Yep!” Kentaro said, smiling and putting his arms behind his head. “That’s exactly what happened!”
“Man, that fight sounded really intense!” Enji frowned. “Though I wish you hadn’t been so brutal with that black bear.”
Kentaro shrugged. “Hey, I gave the guy multiple chances to stop, but he kept coming at me. He even threw things at me. All I just did was return the favor.”
“Yeah, I guess so. Though I still think you should be a little less brutal in the future.”
"Yeah, I guess you're right." Kentaro grimaced. “But anyway, what happened after the fight pissed me off!”
“Really? What happened?”
“The deer didn’t thank me for saving him!”
Enji raised his eyebrows in surprise. “Really?”
“Yeah! He didn’t show me any kind of gratitude! What kinda bullshit is that!”
“I…don’t know. That’s really weird.”
“Yeah! And what’s weirder is that he was actually mad at me for saving him!”
“Wait, really?”
“Yeah! He even told me that I should have butted out of his business! And then he called me a meathead!”
“W-Wow.” Enji grimaced. “Well, that wasn’t nice of him.”
“I know! What’s up with that?”
“I wish I knew.”
“Me too, Enji!”
Enji frowned. “Well, I’m sorry that happened to you, Kentaro.” He put a hand on Kentaro’s shoulder and grinned. “But at least you helped out someone in need! And that’s the most important part!”
Kentaro smiled. “True!"
"I'm really proud of you for doing that, Kentaro!"
"Thanks, Enji!”
Enji nodded in response.