Chapter 098 (Beastars)

Meeting Eyes with Myself Twenty Years into the Future (20数年後の自分と目が合った) is Chapter 98 of the manga Beastars written and illustrated by Paru Itagaki, published in the Weekly Shōnen Champion of the Akita Shoten publishing house.

Synopsis
After eating a meal in the interrogation room, Legoshi thanks Inspector Papiko for the meal. After having gone through the procedure for juvenile predators and with Louis's leg out of his system, thanks to the testimonies of Riz, Pina and Louis, Legoshi's misdemeanor has been dealt with and the inspector concludes his two-day detention. Legoshi believes that he would upset Louis if he went to visit him, and the inspector advises him that normally they would not give him a criminal record for a misdemeanor, but his case is different since he became a predatorial offender. Legoshi is not familiar with that term and the inspector explains that Legoshi unlawfully consumed flesh from a living animal. Legoshi realizes that he now has a criminal record and asks the inspector what his limitations are now that he is a predatorial offender. At first the inspector tells him that unsegregated universities will be quite nasty with him, and if he shows up to the entrance exam, they will look at his record and ask him to leave. Second, finding work isn't going to be easy since most companies are owned by herbivores. Finally, it will be impossible for him to marry a herbivore. This limitation is the one that most affects Legoshi, who falls due to the impact of the news. Legoshi reveals that there is a female herbivore he wants to marry and asks if there is anything he can do. The inspector is amused by Legoshi and tells him that when he becomes an adult, he will look back at his interspecial romance as a bittersweet memory.

Legoshi leaves the correctional facility and because he had never heard the term "predatorial offender" and how little he knows about interspecial marriage, he goes to a book store to research it, realizing how little information there is about it. Thanks to his research, Legoshi is aware of the limitations of interspecies marriage. Seeing as he now has a scar on his face, a criminal record and an unstable relationship with a rabbit, Legoshi sees how the opportunities in his life are despairingly limited. Remembering the inspector's words, Legoshi wonders if in the future he will see all the stuff he has been through as a bittersweet memory. Seeing all the animals around and none are an interspecial couple and how social experience and common sense dictates them to be with someone from the same species. Legoshi considers the idea of ​​entering a carnivore university, somehow get a job, marry a female gray wolf and have a family. Legoshi quickly realizes that this is not the life he wants and decides that he can survive well enough as a tail-wagging misfit of society and try to find a way of life that is right for him.

As he ventures through town, Legoshi reflects that after meeting Haru and Louis he has received irreplaceable shackles on his legs, heavy and not meant for nostalgia. By not being in university, not being employed, and being an ex-convict, Legoshi's vague determination is now crystal clear. Seeing the outside world full of unexplored territory, Legoshi decides to find a way of life that is right for him and then maybe he can live life as an adult without regrets. Legoshi makes the decision to drop out of school.

At Haru's house, Haru's parents ask her if he has everything ready for her return to school in two days. She affirms and her brother asks her if studied for her entrance exam. Haru's father tells him that she will be fine and will enjoy any university she gets into, preferably with no carnivores or to a girls university. Her father think it's too early for Haru to have a boyfriend, and her brother mentions that she was talking to her boyfriend on the phone on New Year's Eve. Haru nervously denies it and her family asks her questions about the "dwarf rabbit" with whom she is going out. Taking the call from the intercom, Haru's mother tells her that her friend Legoshi is at the entrance. Haru nervously interrupts her and goes to see him. Haru tells her mother that she will be out for a bit and not to tell the others, and her nervous mother accepts.

Characters

 * Legoshi
 * Riz (flashback cameo)
 * Pina (flashback cameo)
 * Louis (flashback cameo)
 * Haru
 * Haru's Father
 * Haru's Mother

Important Events

 * Legoshi is released from the correctional facility, after a lapse of two days.
 * Legoshi obtains a criminal record for having become a predatorial offender and with it different limitations in his life, not being able to marry Haru the one that affects him the most.
 * Legoshi investigates interspecies marriages and information is given on this.
 * Legoshi decides to leave the Cherryton Academy.
 * Legoshi visits Haru's house.

Trivia

 * It is revealed that interspecial marriage was legalized ten years ago.
 * Haru's mother sees Legoshi for the first time. It's the first time a member of her family has seen him.
 * Legoshi returns to the place where he confessed to Haru.