Beastars: A Symphony of Life

Chapter 99: Promising Remembrances

"My name is Shoon Kotobuki," the hybrid silently sang to himself to the tune of his favorite song, counting beats on his fingers. "I am twenty-six years old. I own the club's Orchid and Blood, the latter of which must be kept secret."

His neck twitched, causing his head to snap to the side before returning to a neutral, hanging position.

"My boyfriend's name is Shoji Junjii," he continued, hesitating only a second after the twitch.

"Is that really necessary?" the wild dog asked from the walk-in-closet, pulling on a t-shirt. "You haven't had a lapse since that incident in the alley."

Shoon looked over from his seated position, cross legged on the mattress.

"It has been scientifically proven," he explained. "That by memorizing important things to the tune of a song you know, can help solidify it in your mind. And by doing it at the end of the day, before bed, while you sleep it's processed and downloaded like a file in your brain. And I'm doing it more as a preemptive measure. I'd like to keep my mind as long as possible."

His shoulder twitched, causing his arm to spazz out limp across his chest like a dead fish. He moved to cup his hand around the back of his neck, the arm still slung over his chest.

"You don't have to hide those from me," Shoji said, walking up to hop onto the bed.

"Hide what?" he asked, looking over and raising an eyebrow.

"Your twitches."

The hybrid took a moment and internalized, moving his hand to rub his shoulder before bringing it down and rubbing his palm with his thumb. It went on for a few seconds too long and his cougar claws extended, digging into his palm and drawing blood. He still didn't stop and Shoji saw his eyes were locked in a terrified stare at what he was doing. He reached over and grabbed his hands, holding them apart until the climax of the seizure died down. He was only having one of these everyday but according to Shoji's research, the frequency of these nervous system shortages would only increase and last longer. The wild dog felt the tension in the hybrid's muscles die away until he was limp enough to reasonably control himself again.

"Do you have any of your prescription left?" the canine asked.

"No," the hybrid shook his head. "The doctor I used to meet online stopped seeing me. I think he caught on to who I was. As such, he also stopped my refills. And before you ask, I am trying to get a new doctor. I'm speaking to people who owe a favor or two to see if there's anything they can do for me."

Shoji stayed silent.

"Your bleeding," Shoon told him.

Shoji looked at his arm wrapped around his back and saw small puncture wounds and scratches. His fiance's porcupine quills were growing back and they had nicked him.

"It's nothing," Shoji said, going to rinse the blood off in the bathroom and bandage the insignificant injuries, but Shoon softly caught his arm. He brought the cuts up to his nose and deeply inhaled, drawing the canine's scent into his nostrils. He went to lick the wounds, but Shoji pulled his arm away.

"Nuh-uh," he sadly smirked. "You get a taste then your mouth starts watering. And when you start to salivate, your venom glands go into overdrive. Without somewhere to put your venom you'll burn a hole straight down through this building faster than anyone can say...anything."

Shoon smiled and nodded in agreement, licking away the small acidic droplets that had already formed on the tips of his fangs. He flicked them up to prevent any more flow and Shoji left to take care of the small pricks and scrapes. Now that he looked at them, he probably didn't need any bandaids. Just a quick rinse in the sink and maybe a small amount of antibiotic ointment. He ran the trickle of cold water, the pressure in the line was down as the pump was being run by generator, and by the end of that wash, the blood had clotted and sealed the lesions. No need for a salve. He dried the arm and returned to the main room, seeing Shoon lying flat on his back.