Chapter 28 - Legosi Climbs the Mountain (The Third Hell Month: Legosi Part 2)
Legosi put together his plan soon after he found out the Horns Conglomerate building had a living space inside. He set out Saturday morning, wearing his casual clothes and hoodie, along with a backpack with some food in it.
He and Haru had become friends over the past few months, and he would help her out in the gardening club from time to time, since she was the only member. When he told her what he was doing, and asked if she wanted to come, she had just smiled at him and told him it was something he should do on his own.
Legosi left the school grounds at the crack of dawn, the early morning sun streaking across the sky and painting the clouds with brilliant pinks. The morning held a briskness to it, his breath visible whenever he exhaled. The subway wasn't too crowded, since it was an early morning on the weekend, so Legosi was actually able to sit. The ride would be about half an hour. It certainly gave him time to think.
He felt a torrent of emotions in his chest. Anxiety, excitement, dread, love. They all did battle with each other, one reaching the top of the hill before being pulled down by the others moments later.
The biggest fear on his mind though, was whether or not he'd actually be there. He was risking it all on a hunch, but…He HAS to be there. He just HAS to be.
Legosi sniffed himself. Jack had sprayed him with cologne before he left. He shook his head and chuckled.
He stared at his phone, open to the months of messages that had piled up and sent to Louis:
Legosi: I'm coming to get you, Louis.
The Horns Headquarters was an old building, huge and intimidating. There was a stone wall surrounding it, and a metal gate blocking the road leading to it. Only people on business were probably allowed in…
Well, I am on business! He walked up to the buzzer, and pressed it.
Someone answered. "Yes? Who is it?"
Legosi cleared his throat. "My name is Legosi the gray wolf. I'm here to see Louis the red deer."
"What's your business with the son of Oguma?" The voice asked.
"I'm his friend." He said it firmly.
"I'm sorry, Louis is not available at this time." The animal behind the voice had been warned about Legosi He wasn't supposed to let him in.
Legosi groaned in frustration. "At least tell him I was here, then. That I wanted to see him."
"Okay. Sure. I'll do that. Have a good day." The receiver turned off.
Legosi growled. He knew that wouldn't happen. He looked around, spying some cameras. He walked out of range of one of them, and away from the wall so he could see the windows of the upper floors.
Most of them seemed to have their curtains drawn, and if they were open nothing of note could be seen. He walked around the perimeter, taking the building in. Scoping out, sizing up, looking for a good place to strike and get his prey.
...WHAT
Legosi shook his head. No no no no no, that is NOT happening again. His hunting instincts had nothing to do with this. He knew that. Every time he was with Louis, he never had the desire to eat him. The only time he did was when he didn't know it was him. And when he did know it was him, he stopped.
Still, that thought worried him.
Louis was in an office, arguing with his father over the whole situation. The deer was upset that Oguma about not giving Shogi a raise like he said he would look into and Oguma was upset at him for continuing to be friends. They argued back and forth about it and it led to them arguing about other things, mainly the kidnapping and the fact that it was Louis' fault for being so vulnerable.
Louis was sick of Oguma blaming him. He couldn't have known he would be attacked! His father reminded him he needed a carnivore to save him. So what? No one else was going to! His father wouldn't have!
He had no idea Legosi was even near the premises.
On the last side of the building, there was a window with light streaming through it from another window on the other side. That meant there must be a courtyard in the center of the structure. That didn't matter, of course. What mattered was what the light silhouetted: the distinct shape of Louis' antlers. Legosi's heart skipped a beat.
The shape was moving. Moving a lot, actually.
It was Louis! It had to be! Legosi's tail began to wag. He stood in that spot, hoping Louis would eventually look out the window, but it seemed like his attention was fixed.
There he is! He looks angry...But it's him! He's still here! So close! He stood there a few seconds more, then jumped up. Then again. Then he waved his arms. Maybe he could catch his peripheral vision? Notice me, senpai!
Louis huffed and walked off angrily, disappearing from the wolf's view. His ears flattened and his arms went down, but he was filled with determination.
That lead him to Plan B. If he wasn't getting in on their terms, he'd go in on his terms. He'd have to do it at night. He made a few more circles, making note of the camera positions, and deducing where there might be blind spots. Or at least, he thought he was doing that. He'd never done anything like this before, obviously. Now he just needed to kill time.
He went into the city, asking the populace if any of them had seen Louis recently. Everyone he asked had not seen the deer and most didn't even know he wasn't at Cherryton anymore. He went to a bench and sat down, taking some food he brought out and munched it quietly.
Poor Louis-senpai...what is Oguma doing to him? He felt awful, and he wished the sun would just set already. It's been so long...I just want to see you...hold you...maybe even…tell you how I feel. But once I'm inside, then what? What do I do from there?
It wasn't something he figured out and he still had no idea. He just knew he had to see Louis. Whatever happened after that didn't matter. They'd be together again, finally.
Night time came. Louis was in his room, reading. He had grown more attached to it after he had gotten grounded, considering he didn't have any technology since his dad took it all away. He was never one for TV anyway.
Oguma had gone out that night to take care of important business, leaving the deer to his personal butler, Shogi.
Legosi wanted to go right as the sun had dipped out of view, but he waited. He needed it to be as dark as possible, and thankfully for him, the moon was not out that night. He made his move around 10 PM.
He approached the building one again and glanced at the structure. The walls were around 3 meters high. Pretty high...but…
Utilize your strength.
Legosi crouched down on all fours some distance away. He breathed in through his nose, held it, and released it slowly through his mouth. You can do this.
He bolted, the wall coming up to him in an instant. He jumped, reaching his arms up and grabbing the top, which he then vaulted with no problem. He was in! Closer and closer to his goal. Louis.
He landed less than gracefully, but he got up soon after, looking around. Most of the lights were off in the building, so it narrowed down his choices. Louis would most likely still be awake. He tried to find that window he saw earlier in the day.
There was a window with the light pouring out of it. It was...maybe the window from earlier? Well, there was a path up to it, at least. He jumped up on a first level ledge, using that to jump up to an overhang, and from there, he could reach the ledge of the window. Legosi was surprised how easily it came to him. He seemed to be working on instinct.
He stood on the ledge at his full height, looking into the room. The light was on, but seemed empty. Should he knock? Probably not, because there could be any number of animals in that building and only one was Louis. Maybe…
...?
Huh, it was unlocked. Made sense for a second story window. Although, it was almost winter.
Legosi stepped down into the room, shoes landing on soft carpet. He scoped the room. Nobody. It seemed to be a study of some sort. Since the light was on, somebody was probably just here. He turned around and slowly closed the window again.
Louis was not in the room. That means he would have to search for him. He sniffed the air, picking up his scent. So, he had seen him here!
He walked to the doorway and peeked out into the hallway. Left, nobody. Right...a goat butler was walking toward him. He ducked in. Thankfully he hadn't seen Legosi, and kept walking by. Once the coast was clear, Legosi sniffed again, turning right to follow the scent. It lead him into an elevator.
Because he didn't know what floor that Louis was on, he went one by one, trying them all and when he finally found the one Louis' scent was on, he began making his way down the hall. Almost there...
Louis still had no clue Legosi was even close. But...he was on his mind after the fight between he and Oguma. It brought up memories.
Legosi moved down the hallway, avoiding the few animals in the hallway still. It didn't look like they were patrolling, rather finishing up chores.
The scent grew stronger, and Legosi's tail wagged. He was getting closer. He had to be.
Legosi grew dizzy. He had missed his scent so much and he was finally smelling it again. It grew stronger around this corner...Crap, another butler. It was a sheep. He pressed his back against the wall.
The sheep knocked on one of the doors. "Louis-sama?"
Louis-senpai!
Louis looked up. "Yes?"
"Is there anything you need before I go home for the night?"
"No thank you, Shogi. Have a wonderful night."
"Thank you, Louis-sama! Goodnight!" He began walking off, looking down. He hated that his good friend was stuck here, but if he went against orders and let him out, everything could be worse for the both of them. "I hate this…"
The butler disappeared from view down the hall and Legosi waited until he couldn't hear his footsteps anymore, then slipped over to the door, standing in front of it, extremely anxiously. The last thing between he and Louis. The wait would be over. They would finally be together again. He raised his hand to knock.
This was it.
Knock, knock, knock.