Beastars: A Steep Fall From Light

Chapter 14: Uncomfortable Bygones on a Starlit Roof

Haru and Legoshi were sleeping peacefully in their bed, or at least, Haru was. Legoshi was on high alert with his eyes closed. Melon seemed to have gotten the wolf's warning, as Legoshi didn't smell him on the fourth or fifth floor, but he still felt uneasy having the hybrid in the same building as Haru. He didn't want to leave the building when she was within the same vicinity as him. Legoshi needed to sleep, and at the same time didn't want to. It left this stomach in a knot, and he needed to relax. He stood from the bed and went out to the small porch just outside. He closed the sliding glass door behind him and stood in the cool night air. He looked up to the sky, and the waning half moon slightly calmed his nerves. He inhaled deeply and regretted it instantly. Melon was outside as well, two floors below him, the scent wafting up. He went back inside and pulled on a sweatshirt. Maybe he wouldn't be able to smell the hybrid from the roof. He made sure to lock the door to his room as he left.

The night sky was more beautiful from here than from the porch. He could see the arch and the endless sky full of sparkling dots. The constellations of the raptor Dynastes, and the triceratops Paracheirodon were highest in the sky, with his horns pointing to the North Star which gave direction. The Southern Wave was just as beautiful as ever and The Cone was positioned as if holding the moon like a scoop of ice cream. Legoshi inhaled again. Melon's scent was still present, but at least it was more of an after smell that wasn't as detectable and therefore ignorable.

"Think you could describe the sensation for me? I don't have the luxury."

Legoshi's hair stood on end and he turned with a snarl spreading across his face and a growl rumbling up from his throat.

"I know you said you didn't want me to-"

Melon didn't get to finish as Legoshi grabbed him and pressed the hybrid into the wall.

"I thought I was very clear," the wolf growled. "Don't come up here."

"To be honest I didn't expect you to be here," he said, breaking free from the wolf's grasp. "And are you just going to prohibit me from the rest of the building? Last I checked you didn't own the place."

He wasn't wearing his mask, though Legoshi saw it hanging out of his pocket.

"Listen, I know we've had a shaky past," the hybrid said, trying to defuse the situation. "But how about a fresh start?"

Legoshi locked a suspicious eye on him before slinking away.

"To start, what has got you so jumpy?" the hybrid asked.

"I know about your little 'interest' in my wife," the wolf said, stalking a little closer.

"Who?" the hybrid asked.

"You're a little hard of hearing aren't you? I was told by a friend about how you planned on eating Haru after our little fight on the last Meat-Loving Day."

"Careful," the hybrid warned. "From my understanding, the word meat is now a societal taboo. And Haru? Wow it's been a while. She was a student of mine a few years ago. I will admit I did plan on tasting her flesh but I was in a psychosis at the time and not thinking straight. You can hardly blame me for that, we all go a little mad sometimes. Some of us more than others."

"I can blame you," Legoshi growled. "And I will."

"Look at me. Do I look like a threat?"

"Last I recall you were the most dangerous like this."

"Yeah, good times."

The two continued in this silent stand off for a few minutes.

"So wait," Melon said, doing a slight double-take. "You're now married to that rabbit?"

Legoshi remained silent.

"You know I can read your answer, right? Your tail wagged slightly when I asked if you two were married and I saw your pupils dilate. Your stance immediately became less aggressive as well."

Legoshi felt uneasy.

"Look," the hybrid said, leaning on the wall. "Can't we let bygones be bygones and forget that ever happened? I'm a changed animal."

"Who let you out?" Legoshi asked.

"A judge."

"No. Who paid off the judge to let you out early?"

Melon inhaled deeply and let out his breath through his nose rolling his eyes.

"I have no idea," he said. "Everyone asked me when I was leaving and everyone wanted to know when I got out. If I knew who, I wouldn't be holed up here in this low end apartment complex. They'd be helping me rather than paying for my release and leaving only a thousand yen for me to use. I haven't even heard from anyone saying they were the one to free me. I have nothing. The university that hired me before won't take me back, given my record with the Back Alley Market and no one wants to hire an ex-con."

An idea popped into Legoshi's head that repulsed him. He didn't want to offer it to this hybrid, but it was also a means for him to keep an eye on the now fellow ex-con.

"Just so it's clear, I'm not offering this for you," he said. "This is more for my sake than anything."

Melon squinted his eyes in confusion.

"If you need a job, there's an opening at the Udon Bebebe restaurant I work at. I'm the manager there and can see about getting you a low position to start."

Melon laughed.

"Really?" he scoffed. "Someone of my intellect shouldn't be holed up in a small, low end noodle shop."

"Just an offer," Legoshi clarified. "Only so we're clear it would be more that I keep an eye on you and you're out of the same building Haru's in when I'm gone."

"No thanks," the hybrid said. "I'll find a job."

"Trust me Melon, finding a high-end job like the one you had before is going to be nigh impossible with your new, and extensive, criminal record. Especially since yours has multiple predatory offenses. I would know."

Melon raised an eyebrow.

"You could try and start your own psychiatry office again, but, as you said, your past would get in the way of that. You gotta take the jobs you can," Legoshi finished. Why was he offering to help this maniac? He did seem calmer now, and acted in a more socially acceptable way. Maybe that was it. But Legoshi knew he could flip on a dime. He always had something up his sleeve, however this time, he seemed vulnerable. Like an abandoned child in need of help. Maybe, he had changed. His arrest might have been a humbling experience.

"I'll think about it," the hybrid said, seeming to shrug off the offer as he walked onto the roof and turned his back to the wolf.

Legoshi simply nodded and left him there, standing in the silence of the night.

The hybrid stood in his sensory deprived state. He couldn't feel the cool air as it folded around his body. He couldn't smell the city's aromas as they drifted up to enter his nose. He couldn't taste the air, the way one does. All he could do was see the stars and moon as they hung in the sky, see the city's skyline with all its individual lights that made it look like it's own sky. He could hear the occasional car as it drove by on the road below. He flinched at the gunshot as the sound faintly echoed out from The Drusk. This was followed by another gunshot. Despite the city's best efforts, the foundations of that place remained cursed with violence and illegal activity. Melon didn't want to step foot there ever again. That place seemed to draw out bad memories that sent him over the edge. The repressed memories of his mother, and the time he killed his classmates. By making him remember those forbidden areas of time, the Back Alley had twisted him into a tool for its own purpose. He couldn't return, though it seemed to beckon him.

Legoshi returned to his room and opened the door. He quietly shut it behind him, being sure not to wake up Haru. In all honesty he pitied Melon. Maybe that was why he offered him the job. It would have to go through his parole officer and the higher management of the restaurant, but he could vouch for him. Again, it was just so he could keep an eye on him.

He slid under the sheets next to Haru. He felt calmer, though still on edge. He watched Haru as his eyes slowly fluttered closed, and he was able to drift off to sleep.