Music of the Night

Chapter 92

Chapter 92

Arthur felt his body collided with the wall from the sudden force. It was too much to take in on how he had to help Legosi fight Melon, keep himself alive and now Genji was here in the seediest part of town where carnivores wouldn't hesitate to make a stew out of him!

"You ruined everything for me!" Genji screamed, his voice was a mixture of rage and spite. Arthur does his best to dodge the attacks, mindful of his ears and wings, since they are the most sensitive parts of his body. "First my dignity, then my family's fortune to pay off my sentences and now you went on with that doe I love?! I'll make sure you're dead, bug-eyed freak!"

It had been a while since he had last heard of the harlequin buck.

"But what are you even doing here?" Arthur demanded, mouth slightly open to detect his surroundings through clicks. There were a lot of sounds bombarding from all direction. It was hurting his ears and his head felt like splitting in half if this keeps up.

Genji only let out harsh cries as he barrelled into Arthur, forcing the Honduran white bat to spread his wings to break their impact. As much as he doesn't want to fight, Arthur doesn't have a choice since talking was not working. He was eighteen so if he were back at Gryphon Cross, he was at a legal age to be sent to jail for assaulting a herbivore. However, this fight could be the very thing that might end his life.

Letting out a rivalled harsh cry, Arthur thwacked his wings over Genji's face, enough to give himself a little space to escape. Although he had not passed his flying test just yet, he was getting the hang of flying and taking the currents from his surrounding.

"You flying rat!" Genji stamped his foot. "Come back down here and fight me like a real animal!" Arthur managed to hang himself upside down on an opened window from what his ears picked up to be an empty building. He shook his head as he faced down at the harlequin buck.

"Not until you tell me why are you here aside from trying to kill me," said Arthur with an edge in his tone. He knew it wasn't polite but he partially opened his mouth to reveal his fangs. He recalled what others at Cherryton called him as an insult but he doesn't seem to mind.

He might as well have a bit of fun through this damn chaos.

"Come closer then," Arthur taunted with a small toothy grin. The sudden rush of adrenaline he felt frightened and excited at the same time.  "I thought rabbits are tougher than that when it comes to their possession."

This sets the bait as Genji tried to leap up to grab Arthur by any means. Using his clicks, the Honduran white back thwacked Genji with his wings as if he was a spring toy. If he was going to make him deaf or injured again, Arthur should at least give him a warning.

"You don't know who you're messing with!" shouted Genji and he could hear the rabbit gulping down something. Not thinking to much about it, Arthur was using his clicks to find safe spots to hang. However, that was short lived when something suddenly pulled him under mid-flight.

"I got you now," Genji laughed gleefully. Arthur lets out a screech as he batted away the rabbit's strong grip. He was surprised by how strong Genji was when Arthur tried to get away. He couldn't call for help since Melon's fight with Legosi had been the main focus for all the carnivores. "Now Arthur, let me show you what happens when a rabbit has the strength of a carnivore!"

As if it wasn't enough, Arthur felt his wing membranes tearing like a ship's sail. This wasn't like the encounter with the Shishigumi- this one was to ensure that he doesn't fly away. Arthur's tears dripped from the pure agonising pain as Genji's claws sliced through.

A downed bat is a dead bat.

With the last of his strength, Arthur clamped his front fangs into Genji's neck. This caused the harlequin buck to let out a high-pitched squeak. He knew this wasn't going to end well for the both of them. Carnivores were bound to come over. "Genji, you are going get both of us kill, you bloody tosspot!"

The scent of blood....

The symphony of screams....

This was the music of the night!

...

Arthur was dazed from the whole impact. He remembered biting Genji and hearing everything at once before he was knocked out. If there was one regret he would take from this, it would be not going to the gym to train for basic fights. His ears picked up the slow beeping sound of a monitor. He tried to move his wings but was horrified when he felt breezes through the torn membranes. A lot of questions stirred 

Who carried him to the hospital?

"Hey, you're finally awake," a voice murmured across where he laid. Using his clicks, Arthur could make out the shape of a large carnivore from across the room. Recognising the voice, he smiled. "Agata? Is that you?"

"My voice is that easy to tell, huh?" he chuckled, hearing the lion's footsteps coming coming over to his bedside. Arthur could imagine him blinking as he kneeled down to get to his level. "So Agata, what happened?"

So Agata told him about how Melon was defeated and put behind bars after the whole fight. The Black Market was now demolished, causing carnivore residents to go into hiding while a few decided to come into the light and find a better way to control their primal instincts. As for Genji, a few carnivores and herbivores caught the scene through their phones, thus putting an end to Genji by sending him to an institution to be rehabilitated.He also mentioned how there were rumours of eating marine animal meat to pacify their taste for blood. However the idea was shut down due to how that was not in the nature of the beasts on land.

"From my old hometown, we do have marine animals selling marine animal flesh because we accepted their belief of the circle of life. So, what about you? Where will you and the Shishigumi go?"

"We will be working for Louis," Agata told him proudly before letting out a sigh. "Although he was questioning our intentions, we'll show him that we will do our best. Us lions are proud after all and it's good to have him back as our boss in some way."

"You sound hesitant at the last bit," Arthur pointed out. He imagined Agata smiling just by the silence between them. "Not many would accept us since we were the Shishigumi, or what was left of it."

Arthur gently placed a tattered wing over Agata's large paw. "What is better - to be born good, or to overcome your evil nature through great effort?"

"When did you become a philosopher?" the Congo lion laughed, making Arthur join in to ease the pain he was experiencing. The Black Market being demolished, Genji locked away and Arthur might as well get his flying licence revoked.

Speaking of which, he hoped everyone at the former Black Market were okay. It may be a crime alley but it was also the livelihood of carnivores who made that place their home. "Nocturna be with them," he whispered quietly as he wrapped his wing around himself.

It was painful when it was all tattered and ripped like an old umbrella.

Just then there was a knock on the door. Arthur's ears perked up as he recognised whose footsteps they belonged to. It was confirmed when he was captured into a large hug in a comfort of feathers and soft fur that smelled of frangipani.

"Mizuchi...Aoba...you're here..."