It was the night of the meteor festival, and everything was beautiful. Lights were shining bright as ever, stands were filled with people and music was playing. In front of a big stage herbivores and carnivores alike stood and waited patiently for the performance. The cool summer breeze carried with it an aroma of different flowers from the gardening club stand, where Haru was selling them in pots. The starry night sky was the perfect atmosphere. Stars were spread around the pitch black sky like pieces of brain and flesh of an unruly mob boss over a cashmere Japanese carpet. In the midst of all the chatter, Keanu was sitting on a bench smoking a cigarette. He looked around at the crowd of people, and eventually saw Legoshi walking around as if he was looking for someone. At that moment, the dancers came out on the stage and started performing. They looked amazing, flying around the stage as if they were weightless. And in the center of all the attention, Juno. Everyone was fixated on her. Her makeup, shining red dress, tight figure and long legs were drawing eyes from everywhere. Keanu stared at her and smiled.
-"Oh man I gotta fuck that sometime." Keanu said to himself.
He broke contact with the stage for a moment to see Legoshi and Haru talking in the crowd. He put out his cigarette and walked over to them. Haru turned her head and saw him.
-"Keanu!" She squeaked in joy, hugging Keanu. He got down on one knee, so he could hug her properly. He let go of her and stood up, looking at Legoshi.
-"How you doing champ?" Keanu asked.
-"I'm better, you?" Legoshi asked back.
-"I feel great." Keanu replied "Leg still hurts like a bitch though."
Suddenly, the music stopped and the spotlights focused on Juno.
-"I would like to take this moment to invite a student onto this stage." Juno spoke commandingly. Keanu, Haru and Legoshi all turned around to look at the stage.
"Legoshi, please come up to the stage." Juno continued. A spotlight shined over Legoshi, blinding him a bit. He stood there confused for a second, before Keanu pushed him towards the stage slightly. He climbed up and stood next to Juno. Juno held his hand and raised it up in the air.
"The day before the festival, he knew that his fellow school mate went missing. And he spent the following night risking life and limb to save her!" Juno triumphantly announced. Keanu and Haru stared at them both.
"Even despite the recent tragedies that have happened... I want to show you that THIS is what a carnivore is really made of! Carnivores have an established desire to help herbivores whenever they're in need, it's a simple feeling of sympathy and here's your evidence to back it up! That is, of course the fact that he didn't save her for his personal self-interest!" Juno continued. Keanu and Haru looked at the stage in disbelief.
-"I can't believe this..." Haru spoke out, with an angry look on her face.
-"I know right? Risking life and limb? I nearly lost a fucking limb. I mow down 20 lions and I don't even get a participation trophy?" Keanu growled, crossing his arms.
Haru stomped off angrily. Keanu watched her walk off, before walking over to a nearby food and drinks stand. He slapped 500 yen on the counter.
-"Give me a double whiskey." Keanu told the bartender. The bartender was taken back a bit, not expecting such a strong request.
-"I'm uhh...gonna need to see some ID." The bartender told him.
-"Look, this money's either going to that whiskey or to your funeral service, it's your choice." Keanu cut back. The bartender nodded and poured whiskey into a plastic cup, filling it almost all the way to the top.
-"Keep the change." Keanu said, grabbing his drink and walking off.
He walked away from the stand and sipped his drink while looking at the rest of the performance. Legoshi walked up to him in a hurry.
-"Keanu, have you seen Haru?" Legoshi asked.
-"She walked off after that little speech you and Juno had, she looked pissed." Keanu responded. Legoshi walked away after Haru. Keanu turned his head and saw Juno standing alone in front of the meteor holding a candle. She seemed sad. Keanu stood for a second, thinking. He groaned and chugged down his whiskey, throwing the empty cup on the ground. He walked over to Juno.
-"So how come a pretty girl like you is all alone at the light ceremony?" Keanu asked. Juno lifted her head up.
-"Well...Legoshi kinda ditched me. We were supposed to light a candle together, as a perfect couple." Juno meekly explained. She was a complete contrast from herself when she was on stage. Gone was that confident, world changing and strong female wolf. All that stood in front of Keanu was a lonely girl.
-"That was a nice touch at the end of the ceremony, that Legoshi's a real hero isn't he?" Keanu said, almost as if taunting Juno.
-"Yes.." Juno said.
-"Real impressive how he did it all by himself. No help whatsoever. Yup, just him against 30 or so lions who are now in a mass grave." Keanu cut her off and continued.
-"Wait, I'm sorry I didn't mention you. It was just that...Legoshi was a better example of a pure blood carnivore." Juno explained. Keanu's ears perked up.
-"Pure blood?" Keanu angrily asked.
-"Wait, I didn't mean it like that-" Juno panicked.
-"So just cause a doberman fucked a wolf and I popped out means that I'm less of a carnivore than you and Legoshi? " Keanu asked
-"No no you don't understand-" Juno tried to explain.
-"Nah I understand perfectly, don't talk to me." Keanu cut her off, walking away from Juno.
Keanu took a few deep breaths to calm himself down. He eventually saw some stairs leading up to a beautiful view of the city. He decided he was gonna go up there, smoke a joint and relax. He started climbing up the stairs. After a short while his leg started hurting more and more. He saw a goat walking up behind him.
-"Mate, wait. Carry me up to the top and I'll give you 1000 yen." Keanu told him.
-"I'm not sure I understa-" The goat responded.
-"Fine, 2000." Keanu cut him off.
-"It's because I love you Haru..." Legoshi softly spoke. Haru looked at Legoshi, the moonlight shining off of her black eyes. There was genuine affection in her gaze. She felt pressure drop off her chest. All the pain, all the stress and tension she felt these last few days. It was relieved. Legoshi truly did love her. All his actions now made sense.
"Haru... I'll get stronger." Legoshi continued. "I won't let this society or my feral instincts get the better of me. I want to make you happy. Which is why I'll get stronger." Legoshi spoke with determination, but also love. He cared for Haru more than anything in his life. More than life itself. It was truly a mythical love, something that not even the ancient Greeks could come up with. A story that would be told for generations, a story about overcoming adversity, societal standards and the very nature of his being. The two stood in silence for a moment, staring at the magnificent city in front of them. They remembered everything it's brought onto them. It's brought them closer together, yet it seemed so small now.
-"In that case... I'll be waiting for you." Haru replied to Legoshi's proposal.
The two stood in silence, soaking in the view. From behind them, grunting of struggle could be heard. The two turned around. They saw Keanu's head pop up and then a goat's head pop up. The goat was carrying Keanu on his back, clearly struggling up all of those stairs. Keanu jumped off his back once they got to the top. He pulled out 2000 yen from his pocket and gave it to the goat. The goat walked off, wiping sweat off his forehead. Keanu walked up to the two star crossed lovers, lighting up a joint.
-"God I love the view from here, don't you?" Keanu asked. Legoshi and Haru stood in silence, all Legoshi could give Keanu was a meek "yeah". Keanu looked at them both. He could feel some tension.
"Hey, look at me, both of you." Keanu commanded. Haru and Legoshi turned and looked at Keanu. "You're gonna be okay. I promise you." Legoshi's tail wagged a bit, and Haru seemed more relaxed.
They both found some comfort in Keanu's words. It meant a lot to have someone reassuring them that everything was indeed going to be okay. It was like a sign from the universe uniting them and strengthening their spirits. The three looked at the city.
Legoshi saw a complex puzzle he needed to solve. He was going to learn everything about this society, and he was going to become a better person, a better carnivore, a better wolf.
Haru saw a huge frightening trap. She was so small, and didn't feel ready for all the challenges that would come with living in this society. But she saw a big light in one of the towers overlooking the city. It provided her comfort, a feeling of safety. Like she could always count on it to be there, looking out for her.
And Keanu? Well...
Keanu saw the world.
And it was his for the taking.
END OF METEOR FESTIVAL ARC
Bless you for actually staying with the story for this long. It's been amazing. I'll be going into the Riz arc after a mini arc that takes place during the summer. If you haven't already, now would be a great time to review the story, maybe give some critique to improve my writing or just what you think about the story in general.
Love y'all. Stay tuned for more!