Beastars: A Symphony of Life

Chapter 59: Melancholy Meetings

It had been two weeks after what the press was calling The Meteor Festival Massacre. Razor hadn't shown himself in that entire time and The Drusk was now beyond dangerous. Every time the police made a move on the place, the men were either killed or left at the hospital in serious condition. They had never even gotten close to the place. The Drusk was in control of The Jade Hybrids, and everyone knew it. Memorial services were held an entire week for the victims lost in what was being called the Jade Terrorist Attacks. The chief wanted to reclaim The Drusk, but didn't want to risk any more of her men. The virus that locked up their computer system had vanished without a trace. Adler was the only sense of justice in the reclaimed gang territory. He continued his masked vigilantism, taking in all the criminals he could, but even then it wasn't enough. He was only one person after all. The former chairman of the fallen Horns Conglomerate was trying his best to create a new business, but it was proving to be difficult given the history everyone knew about him and his previous company. The mayoral election was put on hold until Razor was captured, with an interim mayor being elected by the city council who made an executive order for all previously known yakuza members already incarcerated to be given indefinite extensions on their sentences until the criminal's capture.

~~~~~

"It's bullshit," Free shouted through the glass.

"Keep your voice down," Agata said. "Or else we'll all go back to our cells and only one of us would get to see him."

"Well it is," Louis said. "You served your time and should be let out. I understand why the mayor did it, but still."

"Think you could do some lawyering?" Dolph asked. "Like you did before?"

"Again," Louis reiterated. "I'm trying my best, but the city officials seem to be solid on this. They're not going to let up or show any leniency in that department."

"There is always a bribe," Jinma said.

"Not to sound rude," Louis retorted. "But I already have enough of a bad reputation surrounding me."

"But that wasn't you," Dolp said. "That was your family, your father's father and so on."

"Doesn't matter," the deer said. "The son always pays for the sins of the father. That's just the way it works."

"So, how's that 'project' coming along?" Miguel asked.

Louis shot him a look that caused the cat to shrivel back a little. They weren't meeting after visiting hours anymore, he no longer had the pull to do such things. There were other people in the room that might have heard. Louis glanced at them, too busy talking with someone else through the glass to notice or hear anything. He leaned forward.

"I'm trying to get back into that club," he whispered. "But security is tighter than ever. Now I can take on a group of large carnivores, but there is a limit to how many. That building is crawling with yakuza members. Some old faces you might remember."

"Yeah," Dope said. "Seems like we're the only mafia group he doesn't want."

"There is the possibility he knows we turned ourselves in," Agata reasoned. "He might think we'd turn him in."

"Or he knows you were our boss," Sabu butted in.

Louis looked up. Maybe it was a combination of both.

"Well," Louis said, standing. "I need to get going. If you hear anything inside, keep me updated. I'll be back when I can."

"Stay safe out there boss," Dolph added.

Louis nodded, turning back out of the visiting room. He would try.

"And boss," Sabu added. "Like the old suit."

He nodded. So did he; just hoped he wouldn't be buried in it.

~~~~~

The casket was black. Nicely polished and shining in the sunlight. As well known as he was, the closed casket funeral was almost barren. The police force was there, as he was seen as one of their own. Masumi was there. Kira was there. Gohin was there. Gosha was there. It was difficult to accept that he was gone, and in such a sudden and violent way. Remembering the scene, seeing that hybrid beat Yahya to death in such a brutal and barbaric way, was too much for the usually strong willed chief of police. She wept.

The Sublime Beastar was given all the honor of an officer killed in the line of duty, including a firearm salute. The casket was lowered into the grave to the tune of Amazing Grace. After which Legoshi saw two animals, a komodo dragon and a liger, watching from afar, across the cemetery. Upon seeing the casket lowered, the two turned around and left for a car parked on a service road behind them. One of them pulled out a phone and placed a call.

At the reception, Legoshi lost sight of his grandfather and looked around, catching his scent coming from outside. He was standing over the grave, fiddling with a medal. One of a pair the two had both received when they were young. The wolf walked out to him.

"You just had to do it," he heard him say. "You just had to be the hero, didn't you? You could never wait for backup or anything. And I wasn't there to watch your back. I wasn't-"

He broke off, trying to keep his composure. He saw Legoshi walking up to him out of his peripheral vision and he sniffled in tears.

"I can't help but feel that most of this is my fault," he told his grandson. "He said this would be the last case. The last one. And I foolishly played along to help him with that. He looked alive for the first time in years. He was happy."

Legoshi wrapped an arm around his grandfather, who finally broke down, dropping the medal in the freshly filled dirt. Legoshi held him up as he started to get weak legs. He sat there letting the tears flow down into the dirt. He leaned into his grandson, who held up his hunched form. The groundskeepers came back with a roll of sod to roll over the patch of dirt. They saw the two and waited in the cart for them to leave. Legoshi waited for his grandfather's crying to finish.

"We should go back," Legoshi said.

"You go," the lizard said. "I have others to see."

"Me too," Legoshi said, remembering his mother and grandmother were also buried here. "I'll come with you."

Legoshi followed his grandfather to the other graves.

The groundskeepers rolled the grass out, over the medal and buried it.