Chapter Text
Sometimes, things just happen.
They happen every day, and you don't even get aware of it until much later. Important things can be happening on a moment and you'd be totally clueless about it while you go about with your day, worried with things like your next assignment for college, of figuring out what play your club will perform on the festival, or even trying to deal with the clapback of exposing a secret ring of crime spreading a drug made with bone and blood of herbivores as a energetic drink with your fiancé's family's company as their cover and having your father be all over you because of it.
However, even if you are not aware of what happened, you might have a clue. Like, a sudden feeling that comes over you suddenly.
Bill felt it when he was walking with Els out of Club, their discussions of the next play they'd do on the Meteor Festival not ending on yelling and discussion this time, and that was a good thing. However, the tiger's smile dropped as he felt something, a shiver that went from his spine all the way down to his tail, which tingled like it did few times on his life. This was... a strange feeling. One that Bill, as a feline and inherently superstitious, could not help but feel was somehow a warning for something.
Louis felt it as he looked out of the window of his quarters on Horn's Conglomerate, wondering if this was the price of trying to be a hero such as Legoshi did. Just as he thought of the wolf, he felt a shiver on his spine, and a tingling that was the strangest thing ever. A while after, he felt something else: a surge of agony that felt as if he was pulling his muscles due to intense strain, nearly as if that part of him was being ripped off his body forcefully. The source of the feeling: his missing leg...
Even Haru felt it. She was on her bedroom, looking through the gallery of photos on her phone, seeing the pictures she had of her date with Legoshi. The one that she took him for his birthday, and that ended with her stomping out on him when he refused to kiss her. She was thinking back at it, starting to wonder if she was too harsh on him by walking out like that, when she felt a shiver that went from the back of her neck to the tip of her ears, followed by a tightening feeling on her chest that she nearly mistook by a panic attack, and left her wondering what just happened. She could not stop thinking about Legoshi all night after that and tried to call his number on the following morning.
However, Legoshi would not be picking up his phone to answer her, like he usually did when she called.
For, on the same day that all those people who knew him had those feelings, the wolf saw himself tied to a chair on the top of a cliff by the sea, with the same hybrid who tried to kill him with a bullet now going the extra mile to be sure that the wolf would be gone for good.
And, like any proper psychotic and sadistic villain, Melon made sure to toy with the wolf, hanging over the edge while telling him how he loved the expression of fear on animals about to die just as that very same expression appeared on the wolf's heroic face.
Then he dropped him.
No final speech, no final words, no bragging or laughing or basking in any other way. Just watching the wolf fall to the sea and, with a splash, vanish from his sight without any trait, as if he had never even existed on the first place.
Just another death to add to his ever-growing list of victims. Another crime that would give Melon the brief feeling of thrill before vanishing into his memory until it was little more than a passing thought on the back of his head.
However, while Melon walked away from the cliff with his mask back on his face, ready to move on with his life while the wolf under the waves lost his', thinking he would soon forget what that idiot even looked like, it would soon become clear that the wolf was not one easy to forget.
Melon didn't bother remembering the faces and names of those he killed. He forgot them all easily, the same way one forgets a cheap lay the week after. But that wolf's face and name were hard to forget, and the hybrid was not sure why.
Could it be because of how gratifying seeing the expression of fear on his face was? How seeing that tragic hero, so keen on doing the right thing, breaking into the same fear as every other beast who Melon held at gunpoint before, brought some type of joy to the hybrid that he rarely even felt? Could he even feel joy?
Perhaps was how he said, with a straight face, that he wanted to know him better? And then asked him why he did the things he did? Those words showing how much of a clueless kid that wolf actually was, and how he should never have tried to get involved in the affairs of adults on the first place? That could be part of the reason?
Perhaps was the fact that he survived Melon's first attempt of killing him, surprising the hybrid far more than he ever cared to admit, and giving him the rare chance of seeing someone die "a second time", so to speak? I mean, how many chances would you get to kill the same person twice? That was honestly a treat for a person who enjoyed killing.
Or maybe it was the fact that the wolf was just so keen on finding him? On reaching him, even if just to arrest him?
Melon could hardly even remember the last time anyone was so interested on him...
Doesn't matter. He was just a wolf. A stupid, foolish, ridiculously naïve wolf. I'll forget about him eventually. Just give it enough time and I won't even remember his name or what he looked like anymore.
Melon reminded himself of that, and he would just go on with his life. Working up his reputation on the Black Market, keeping those lions working and on line, plotting new ways to break people's sweet illusions about their perfect and harmonious society, and working part time on the college where he had a job as a history teacher for some variety on his dull life.
And, during the tests and sometimes lectures, he would catch wind of the things they students whispered to each other as they kept looking at their phones during class time.
"...and this time three different people saw it." The rabbit said in a whisper to the squirrel sitting by her side. "they all say it was 'a creature that was like a lizard crossed with a bat the size of an elephant'."
"Man, that sounds scary!"
"Yeah, I know! That makes it the third time someone saw those strange things this week alone. And they are seeing them all over the country. What do you think they are?"
"I heard about it." Said someone behind them. It was a serval, who leaned forward. "People say they are ghosts."
"Ghosts? But people describe them like monsters."
"Well, there's the thing..." she leaned in even more and then whispered something to them:
"I think they might be dinosaur ghosts."
"What?"
"Get out of here!"
"I'm serious! Come on, think about it!" the serval continued, "Everyone who saw those things describes them as 'big and translucent monsters', and they even describe them in ways that make them sound like dinosaurs. I mean, a big lizard with wings like those of a bat? That's basically a pterodactyl!"
"Well... I mean, maybe. But why would people be seeing dinosaur ghosts?"
"Because of the time! Girls, it's nearly summer! The Meteor Festival is just around the corner, and we all know that this is the time when the dinosaurs come from the spirit world to check on how things are, right? That's what's happening?"
"Then how come it never happened before?" the squirrel asked, the four animals on that area of the room not realizing that the teacher had gotten up from his desk and was calmly walking to the place they were all sitting.
"Well, you know how the city is kind of in an uproar right now? Because of the escalating tensions ever since the whole 'blood drink' thing was exposed?" she offered. "Some people say that this might be the reason. That the dinosaurs are sensing from beyond that things are tense down here, and they are coming down for real this time because they want to remind us that we are all part of this world and we need to share it without fighting. They are upset at us for not living up to their expectations and they want us to remember they are watching. Kind of like your mother hears you fighting with your siblings and comes to tell you to cut it out."
The bunny and squirrel shared a look. I mean, there was a certain logic to what she was saying, and the city has been growing tenser lately, but still...
"Sounds a bit farfetched, don't you think?"
Three of the four students jumped as they looked up to see their professor, Mr. Choi the Gazelle, looking that them through his eternally squinted eyes, which when combined with the mask he always wore made him look quite the mysterious figure, so much that some girls of the class though he was charming.
"While I do agree some beasts could certainly use a good scolding..." the gazelle continued, looking at them. "I don't think that we should just assume the dinosaurs would come all the way down here themselves just to do it. I mean, we are all pretty grown, so they should not have to treat us like children, right?"
"Also, I think you should be a bit less worried about ghost dinosaurs or whatever and focus more on the lecture. This subject will be on the final test before summer." His words caused the three students who were looking at him to focus back on their books. A fourth one, however, was still looking at her own phone, seeming unaware that the teacher was even there.
"And that includes you Miss Haru." The bigger beast snatched the phone of the white rabbit's hand.
"Hey!" the rabbit said, sounding pissed. I mean, why wouldn't she, when the last time that teacher snatched anything out of her he both ridiculed to the rest of the class and then had her come to his office, where things got creepy real quick. It was not far-fetched to think something similar would be happening this time around as well.
However, this time the teacher said nothing, while most of the class looked his way as he held Haru's phone. He just... stared at it.
He stared at the picture currently showing as the screensaver. It was a picture. A selfie of the same rabbit to whom the phone belonged. By her side, was a very familiar wolf.
Oh... What have we here? the teacher thought to himself as he tilted his head ever so slightly. The rabbit, already having more than enough bad experiences with that one professor in particular, decided she was not going to take any more crap from him.
"May I know what you are looking with so much interest?" the rabbit said with impatience, drawing a few murmurs of the other students as she talked to their teacher like that. The teacher, however, not seeming upset about it (Mr. Choi was famous for hardly getting upset over anything, which was another reason why he was so popular with most of the students), simply looked at her, still with squinted eyes, and said:
"Oh, just thinking how adorable you look on this picture with this big fella. Who is he, by the way? You look really comfortable near this wolf, and that's... unusual. Is he a friend of yours or something?"
Haru kept glaring at the bigger animal, nearly as if he was still mocking her. The she said, her voice steady:
"Not that is any of your business, but that's my boyfriend."
There were some murmurs on the classroom, and the teacher remained still for a moment, before looking at the screen once more.
"Hmm, is that so? ~" he asked, and there was something strange on his voice, "Well, he seems to be a stand-up guy, that's for sure. Charming too, I can see why you're dating him..."
He then returned the phone to her, leaning over and whispering, only loud enough for Haru to hear:
"Stay after class, we need to have a word."
Haru wanted to refuse. She wanted to tell him to screw himself, but she didn't feel like making a scene. Also, she didn't want to give him the delight of seeing her walk away in a hurry as if she was running from him in fear. She already did that once and would not be doing that again.
So, she stayed until the end of the lecture, now keeping her phone clutched to her hands, as if ready to protect it in case that guy tried to snatch it out of her again. He did not come to her a second time, however, as he instead focused on continuing with his planned lecture, and he eventually reached the end of it, at which point the student started trickling out, many of them now talking about various subjects.
"Think we'll see one of the dinosaur ghosts?"
"My cousing saw one..."
"... and I'm not sure if I should trim my fur that short."
"Is that rabbit really dating a wolf? I mean, hasn't she heard what happened to Ako and that lion?"
Haru heard part of it, the rest was just residual noise. She stayed after everyone left, as she was now standing before the teacher with crossed arms.
"So... what is it you want to talk to me about?" the rabbit asked of the horned animal before her. Who then crouched to be on her eye-level, on the same manner Legoshi did nearly all the times they talked in the past. Comparing the two felt wrong to her. Just... wrong.
Like, in a fundamental way.
"So... you're dating a wolf, huh?" he asked, tackling the matter head-on, and he seemed to be friendly about it. However, Haru already figured out that this friendliness was a much more efficient mask than the one he was always using.
"Yes, I am." Haru confirmed, "Although, like I already said, it is none of your business."
"My, my, how rude." He tilted his head as he looked at her. "Is this a way to talk to a fellow herbivore? And a teacher of yours, at that."
Haru made a sound that could have been a scoff, but with more spite to it.
"I'm sorry, what was that?" the teacher had his head tilted, and then Haru looked at him.
"You call yourself a fellow herbivore..." she said, looking at the older male on his eyes, squinted but still able to see her. "But... that's not what you are. Not exactly."
Silence. Under his clothes, the male's fur stood on end, his muscles tensing as he looked at the rabbit. However, when he spoke, there was no signs of his voice that his emotional state had changed at all.
"Oh? Are you saying I'm not an herbivore?" he leaned a little bit over. "What makes you say that?"
A familiar shiver ran through Haru's body. One she learned to associate both with dread and with anticipation. With suffering and with joy. With fear... and with love.
"Because of things like that." Haru said, and the older animal expressed further confusion, or simulated confusion.
"The way you speak when you are leaning on me like that. The way you nearly seem like you are trying to tower over me sometimes. Plus, there's the way you grabbed me the other day in your office." Haru said to him, listing each one of the items. "Herbivores don't usually act like that with other herbivores."
"Well, maybe that's just because I like you. ~" his voice was joyful. However, Haru did not smile.
"Even if they 'like' someone, herbivores don't lean onto another one like that. I would know that because a lot of boys 'liked' me back in high school. The way you act towards me. The way you make me feel. I never got that type of feeling from another herbivore."
She did not remove her eyes from him as she spoke.
"I've only got that feeling from carnivores."
"Oh... is that so?" that tone was back. The tone of amusement laced with something else. Something that Haru could not quite name, but that made her feel unease and angry, as if the male was somehow offending her in a way she could not truly understand.
"Did you got this feeling from that wolf of yours?" the male leaned over, "Did he tried to eat you? Did he held you like I did? Did he ever placed his mouth really near you and you could see his fangs and count them?"
He did. He did all those things, but there was no way Haru would ever b admitting it to that creep. She would not give him the validation of assuming that being a creep towards a random rabbit was somehow justified since a wolf did it. She was unaware that her very expressions and other reactions had already answered each one of the questions he gave to her.
"And you look so comfortable around that wolf on the pictures, smiling as you lean into him with no fear at all." He said, leaning even closer.
"Way more comfortable than it would be considered safe." That last part was spoke nearly in a whisper. "You could easily get eaten, you know?"
"Well, I'm aware of that." The rabbit said, giving a step back, not because she was scared, but because the proximity was bothering her. Nobody liked their personal space being invaded, after all.
"And yet, you look at this wolf's pictures as if you want to run to his arms again..." the teacher said, straightening a bit. "You really are a reckless one, aren't you?"
He tilted his head.
"Or... is that that you actually want to be eaten?"
"Yes. That could certainly be it. You want that wolf boyfriend of yours to eat you, right?" he pressed. "You want him to eat you because that's the way for him to show you love. Or, would it be because this way you would not be alone ever again? Is that it? A poetic tragedy of an herbivore who delivers herself to a carnivore and lets him eat her to become a part of him forever? Man, that's sooo sappy..."
"And what do you know!?" Haru snapped back at him. The older animal, however, seemed unimpressed, as he simply looked at her and then said, with a chillingly casual voice:
"Well, I know that I could eat you, if you want it so bad."
The extreme casualness that he spoke about it, the way he told her so dead-on that he could eat her, without stuttering and without a hint of humor on his voice, was enough to leave even that rabbit momentarily stunned. However, she recovered, and then she scoffed.
"Yeah, I don't think that would happen."
"Oh?" the teacher tilted his head just a tad bit more. "What? Is the idea of being eaten suddenly not all that alluring? What, are you getting cold feet now that someone put it into words? Or is it that I'm not as good as that wolf of yours? Because, let me tell you, the fact he has not eaten you yet tells me he's quite the wimp."
"Who're you calling a wimp, you creep?" Haru's hostility spiked, and it showed in the coldness of her voice.
Legoshi could be a wimp, but only she had the right to say that about her boyfriend.
"Well, he certainly doesn't look like he has the balls to eat you." Her said back, "Bet you guys didn't even had sex. Wait, did you two ever even kissed?"
Okay, now he was really getting on Haru's nerves at this point.
"That's none of your business!"
"Ohhh, you haven't. ~" there was a delight in that goofy voice as he spoke that and, to add insult to injury, he chuckled. "Well, seems to me like you wasted a lot of time on that loser."
"He's not a loser! He's just... shy, and awkward! I think it's sweet!"
"Most people would call it being a chump, but okay." He said back, still being a smartass.
"He's strong! And I assure you he's manly! More than you!" Haru started getting loud again, her ears inflating in frustration as that guy was provoking her by attacking her man. "He'd beat you up if you two ever fought!"
"Oh, I'm not so sure about that..."
"He would!" the sureness was clear on her voice. "Especially if he heard you said you wanted to eat me!"
"Oh, is that so?"
"Oh, you can bet!" Haru held her head high. "He's super protective of me! He already fought a bunch of carnivores who bothered me back when we were in high school, and he's even stronger now! I'd probably have to stop him from coming here to beat you up if he heard you've been bothering me, and I'd only do that to keep him from getting in trouble for breaking that face of yours!"
She pointed a finger right at said face as she spoke those words. And the man she was pointing to, for a moment, had the urge to remove his mask and bite her finger, perhaps even her entire hand off, consequences be damned.
However, like in most occasions, he managed to hold back that moment of bloodlust, as his mind came up with something else. Something much more devious.
"You sound really sure on how this wolf would come to rescue you."
"Because he would!"
"Oh yeah?" he leaned a bit forward. "Would you bet your life on it?"
For a moment, she thought that he was mocking her again. However, it soon became clear as this was not the case.
"Just want to see if this wolf is really as reliable as you think he is." He said to her, "See if he can save you from a creepy monster that wants to eat you whole."
"What are you proposing?"
"That you let me eat you." He said, "Not right now. One day in the future. I make all the arrangements, prepare the table, the ambiance, maybe some music and candles to go along, kind of like a date." He seemed amused as he explained that. "And you, my dear, will come to see me. You will give yourself to me, and then we see if this wolf of yours comes to rescue you. If he can't stop me, for one reason or another, then you let me eat you. Sounds fair?"
Haru stared at him, for a moment wondering if this guy was for real. Because that... that was crazy talk, no matter how you tried to look at it. I mean, asking her to bet her whole life on Legoshi coming to her rescue on not, for her to let herself be devoured...
"Oh, hesitating already?" the older male asked, "What, are you suddenly not so confident on that mutt to come to your rescue like a knight in shining armor? Maybe wondering if he loves you enough to even bother?"
Ohhh, that guy did not wasted a chance to tease her. He really did like to get on her nerves. Haru could not stand him.
And yet, the memory of the time they talked, of the sadness she sensed on his voice hidden just beneath that goofiness, it made something move inside her.
It was a pity that somehow mixed with her annoyance into something else. And that perhaps was the true reason why she agreed to do it.
She had been practically indoctrinated by her parents to be okay with the idea of one day being eaten anyways...
"December 26th?" Haru said as her teacher set the specific date. "The day after Rexmas? Any specific reason?"
"Is the day I was born." He said simply, "I was thinking it could be my birthday gift."
Of course... Haru though that, but simply went along with it.
"Fine, is a deal then." She said to him, "But I'm afraid you'll end up being hungry on your birthday, because my wolf will come to save me."
"You really got a lot of faith in him, huh?" he said, "Do you really have Legoshi in such a high regard?"
"Oh, you can bet I do. After all, he..."
However, Haru trailed, and she looked at the masked animal.
She never said Legoshi's name. Not even once. She was sure of it. Then...
"Wait, how do you know his name?"
"The same way I know for a fact he will not come to save you." The animal said, his voice suddenly taking a strange tone, a form of cruel amusement. "Sorry, darling, but I just tricked you into a deal with no way out. Please, don't be too made at me. ~"
"I told you, Legoshi will save me!" Haru said back to him. "It doesn't matter what, as soon as he hears I'm in danger, he'll come running-"
"He's dead."
Those words, spoke suddenly and yet casually, cut not only Haru's words, but her very trail of thought. She blinked, looked at the older beast before her. He had opened his eyes. For the first time since she'd first saw him on that same classroom, she could see his eyes, as he looked at him very intently, nearly as if waiting for her reaction.
"...What?" she finally said, and then he repeated:
"Legoshi is dead. He's been dead for a while, to be honest. Around a month."
He then tilted his head.
"Did it never occur to you that this could be the reason why he was not answering to any of your calls?"
Haru blinked, her face making something strange. As if her brain was rebooting, like a computer that received a command it could not process.
"W-what?" she repeated. "What!?"
"So, yeah, he won't be coming to save you." He said with a shrug, like mentioning the weather. "Guess you'll have to le me eat you, huh?"
"You... You!" Haru said, her brief confusion replaced by outrage. "What are you even saying!? What sick game are you trying to play now!?"
"Letting you know you cannot count on a dead wolf to come save you?" he tilted his head. "I mean, it sounded like the decent thing to do..."
"Like I'd believe that!" Haru said, "I mean, sure, he's been ghosting me, but that's just because I was a bitch to him on our last date, and he's probably still mad! That doesn't mean he died! How would you even know if he's dead!?"
She retreated. Or tried to. His hand shot forward, grabbing her arm and pulling her closer. She stumbled and, with his muzzle right by her ear, he said in a whisper, as if telling her a secret:
"I know he's dead... because I killed him."
Once more, Haru stopped, a chill running down her spine as she felt as if a block of ice had just been dropped onto her stomach.
He... sounded sure of what he was saying. Like, really sure.
But still, there was just no way...
"That stupid wolf was annoying me a while ago." He continued, as her ears dropped "He was following me around, wanted to have my arrested, and I got tired of it. Had to dispatch him for good. Had no idea that he was dating one of my own students. Guess the world really is a small place, isn't it?"
"N-no..." Haru said, although her voice was quiet, nearly... doubtful. "You are lying. I don't believe it."
"Oh, yeah?" she could practically hear the smirk on his voice. "Then how come you have been able to reach him at all in the past month? Just accept it, little rabbit. He's gone."
"No!" she pulled her hand free from his grasp and ran out of the classroom.
He was left there, all alone. And then he chuckled.
"She'll accept it soon enough." He said to himself, getting up and calmly gathering his papers, preparing to leave the classroom and go to his other business. Humming to himself as, suddenly, his days did not seem as boring as they usually were.
He had something new to look forward on his birthday...
It kept calling and calling, until it invariably went to a certain message. Not the voicemail. This one was different, but still, it meant he was not answering at all.
Legoshi was not picking up his phone, and she already called him four times in a row.
He's not dead. He's not dead. He's not dead. He can't be dead.
The white rabbit passed by some animals, who were talking about a new article that was just posted online about another sighting of the strange creatures everyone was not calling "dinosaur ghosts", and that this time there were two of them, and that the witness said that they were fighting each other. She did not give them any attention, however.
Haru was walking forward in a hurry. Her legs moving nearly independently of her mind. She walked out of her university's building almost without realizing it.
There's not way that's true. There's just no way. Legoshi would not be killed. Not by that creep. He's just trying to get to me again. Yeah, that's it. He's just trying to get under my skin and make me nervous. I already figured out he gets off on that. I mean, what were the chances of Legoshi being murdered by my teacher after stalking him? Why would he even stalk my teacher? That makes no sense! It gotta be a lie! It has to!
She was only half-aware of what she was going, but soon she was standing in front of the restaurant where Legoshi worked.
It was still working hours, so he would most likely be there. Maybe he went out to make a delivery, but he was still probably there.
No. The owner told her Legoshi had not showed up in a whole month.
"We can't even reach him anymore. We had to hire someone else to cover for him." the owner said as he continued to finish a plate with an order for a client. "Honestly, this is the second time he vanishes without warning, and last time he said it was because some giant fruit tried to kill him or something. Honestly, kids those days..."
Haru left before he was done talking, once she realized that Legoshi was not there.
Maybe he decided to change jobs? Maybe he got sick and was bedridden at home? That would also explain why he was not picking up. Maybe he turned off the phone because the ringtone was hurting his ears since he was sick. That could be it. In that case, she needed to go to his home, so maybe she could help somehow. Maybe he needed someone to buy him medicine...
She arrived on his place at the Beast Complex (that name made her think of a manga series, for some reason), and went straight to his apartment, only to find the door locked and a bunch of letters by the door, which were payment notices from the landlord. There was quite a lot of them...
"You looking for Legoshi?" an ewe asked, causing Haru to look at her, and seeing her standing there alongside a seal and a camel, all of which were apparently the wolf's neighbors and friends.
"He has not shown up in a month." The ewe, named Seven, said, "We tried to call him, but he is not picking up. We are all getting worried with him."
"We even tried calling the police, but they just say that they will 'look into it' and then don't call us back." The camel said, "I think they're ignoring us on purpose now."
"Legoshi told us he was doing some job. Something dangerous..." Sagwan the Spotted Seal said to the rabbit. "I have a really bad feeling about this. Say, if you find him, could you tell him that we're looking for him? Please?"
His expression did not change much, but there was worry on his voice. Genuine worry. Especially after he mentioned some "dangerous job" that Legoshi was apparently involved with.
"That stupid wolf was annoying me a while ago. He was following me around, wanted to have me arrested..."
That... sounded like Legoshi. Going out for justice to get a killer caught... but, that's didn't meant... it couldn't mean...
He's not dead. He's not dead. He's not!
Haru called. She called Juno. She called Louis. She called everyone who she could think of who could know anything about Legoshi and where he was. None of them had hear from the wolf in over a month. Not one of them. Like he had just vanished from the face of the Earth.
"So, yeah, he won't be coming to save you..." the sureness on his voice as he said that. The way he sounded as if he was absolutely sure of what he was talking about...
She called, once more, Legoshi's number.
She held her phone to her head, holding it close to her ear as she stood in front of the building. It called. And called. And called.
Please...
"The number you called is no longer in activity..."
As she heard that message once more, she felt something move within her. Something sinking. Her stomach, her heart, the rest of her guts, it all sank. Or, was it she who sunk to her knees while her arms went lim.
"L-Legoshi..." she said, her ears dropping as her face turned to the ground.
He is not dead... he cannot be... Because, if he is... If he's really dead... then what am I supposed to...
"Legoshi-kun..." she said, shrinking herself even more as she closed her eyes, something leaking from them and running down her furry cheeks. "Where are you...?"
She felt her chest tightening even more. Breathing was getting hard. Her breathing was getting heavier as it felt like a hand was squeezing her insides hard. She opened her mouth, about to take a deep breath that would inevitably turn into a sob, when...
"Haru-chan?"
Her eyes snapped open. The world seemed to freeze around her. She blinked, and then turned her head.
There was Legoshi, standing with a bag over his shoulder, wearing a jacket she never saw him wear before, looking at her with surprise as if he found her while walking back from the gym.
"Le... goshi?" Haru said, looking at the wolf, who looked back at her. Then, he saw her tears.
"H-Haru!" he rushed to her, dropping the bag and kneeling by her side. "Haru, what happened!? Why are you crying!? Are you hurt!? Wait, what are you doing in my building!?"
She didn't answer, she just stared at him for a while. For the second time today, it was like her brain had to completely reboot in order to process something that was happening. That the wolf before her was there for real and that it was really Legoshi, while he kept asking her if she was okay.
"Haru... what happened?" he asked, placing his hands gently on her cheeks. This seemed to be what the rabbit needed to finally snap out of it.
"I... I-I should be the one asking that!"
The wolf flinched and recoiled as she snapped at him. She quickly got up, wiping the tears of her face before putting her hands on her hips while talking to him.
"Where have you been!?" she demanded, "Look, I know I was rude to you last time we saw each other, but you didn't have to ghost me that hard! You actually got me worried, you idiot!"
The wolf recoiled at this, seeming bashful suddenly.
He looked like a puppy who just remembered that he should have done homework instead of watching cartoons.
"S-sorry..." the wolf said, "I was busy with... stuff..."
"And what about your phone?" Haru demanded, "I should have called you over a hundred times, and you didn't answer a single time! The last time I called you it said your number was no longer available? What, you gave up having a phone?"
Legoshi looked to the side, avoiding her eyes, and that made the rabbit even madder.
"So?"
"I-I fell on the water!"
The way the wolf blurted that startled Haru slightly. Legoshi paused, and then he said, this time calmer:
"I-I went to the shore to think one of those days... I was just there to relax a bit, put my thoughts in order, but I ended up falling on the water, with my phone still in my pocket... As it turns out, seawater is not good for electronics. Like, at all. And, since I didn't get a new one or renewed my plan, I guess they canceled it? Sorry about that..."
Haru looked at him, seeing how the wolf was looking down, acting as if he was sorry for bothering her by breathing too loud. That was basically Legoshi for you.
She sighed. Annoyed, but also somehow relieved.
"So, now I can't call you anymore until you get yourself a new phone, all because you tripped on your own feet like a klutz when walking down the beach. Well, that's just great."
"Sorry..." the wolf said, "Things have been really hectic on the last month..."
"Well, not on your job, that's for sure." Haru said to him. "I passed there earlier, you know? The owner hired a new guy for the place because you skipped work for over a month."
"Eh!? He did!?"
"Yeah, he did! I mean, that's kind of what happens when you start ditching your job!" the rabbit said "It was not just me worried about you too, you know? Your neighbors were as well! And your landlord is considering evicting you! Honestly, you should consider letting people know next time you plan to disappear..."
"Wait, what was that!?" the wolf said, suddenly perking. "My landlord is evicting me!?"
"You were away for a whole month! You're late on your rent." She told him. "I saw the notices at your door. The one on the top said your room was going to be emptied by Wednesday if you don't pay."
That made the wolf panic.
"Crap!" he said, getting up, and then he rushed inside. Haru was surprised, but she was soon recovering.
"Hey! I'm not done talking to you yet!" she said, rushing after him into the apartment she just got out of. As she did, the rabbit failed to notice someone had their eyes on them...
"Please, don't evict me!" the wolf said, bowing to his landlord as he pushed the money towards him. "I can't afford to look for another apartment now!"
The landlord, a female pigeon, picked the money he was giving her, counting it calmly while the wolf kept his head down, apologizing for the lateness, but she barely minded. All she cared about was her payment.
And the wolf was short.
"You know rent costs more than this." She said to him, "Where's the rest of the money?"
"I-I... don't have it..." the wolf said, and the pigeon gave him an annoyed look. "W-wait! Hold on!"
The wolf then quickly searched on the pockets of his jacket, and then he pulled something out of the other one.
"Let me see... which one..." the wolf said as he held a bunch of small objects, each one the size of a penny, on his right hand, using the fingers of his other hand to look through them, until he picked on and gave it to the pigeon.
"Here."
She looked at it, picking it from the wolf's hand and looking at it in the light. It was small and red, shaped like a small heart and it glittered as the light reflected on it.
"What is this?" she asked, looking back at the wolf. "Are you trying to pay your rent with some kids' craft beads?"
"I-it is valuable, I swear! Please, accept it this time, just until I can make the rest of the money! I won't be late on my next payment, I promise!" the wolf bowed his head deeply one more time, and the pigeon lady looked at him for a moment, before sighing.
"You're in luck I haven't called the movers to take your things out of the apartment yet." She said to the wolf as she put the small red heart on her pocket. "But I got an eye on you, got it?"
"Yes, I understand. Thank you for your patience." The wolf bowed once more, just as the pigeon turned to walk away, and then he finally lifted his head, letting out a relieved sigh.
"A-hem!"
The sound made the wolf turn to look at Haru, who was standing behind him, hands still on her waist as she looked at him while tapping her foot on the floor impatiently. The wolf blinked, and he looked at her.
"Uhhhh, yes?"
"You still haven't answered my questions, mister!" the rabbit said, looking at him with a serious expression.
"Where have you been!? And what happened to your ear?" the wolf immediately took a hand over his left ear, which had a notch Haru was absolutely sure was not there before, as if to hide it from the rabbit, despite her having already saw it.
"It's... kind of a long story."
"Well, I have time, so tell me." Haru crossed her arms while looking at her. "It's been a while since we last talked, anyways."
"O-okay. Can we talk on my apartment? I can offer you something from the fridge... No, wait, it all probably went bad... I think I have some tea I can make?"
"Yeah, I'll take tea. We can order something. On me, since all you have left on your pocket is a bunch of beads, apparently."
The wolf and bunny started walking up the stairs to Legoshi's apartment. As they did, the same person who watched them outside had followed them in, and now was pulling a radio while watching them go.
"Hey, it's Ludo, from Sector 445." The rat said on his radio. "You guys can all stop searching, the wolf is back. Inform Yahya-sama."