Ch. 1 A Glance Under the Moonlight
Author note: since I'm using music, I feel an inclination to make a copyright notice so…
All music used and the characters of Beastars are not mine, just the OC…yep, I'm that type of fanfic writer, because I'm afraid to explore other possibilities of familiar worlds without one.
What is fate?
What defines fate?
An unbreakable force or a series of coincidences?
I wouldn't know.
All I know right now is, a change is about to occur, and this encounter will be the catalyst ripple.
Cherryton Academy - Morning
Green eyes open to see a familiar ceiling to the occupant, that of their private room. Sitting up, revealing blue female pajamas under the covers as she tries to fix her messy blue hair with a silver-white highlight. Her tired expression still shows a youthful face as she heads towards the nearby dresser to grab a small bag with shower supplies. She heads towards the only door in her room and opens it to reveal a hallway with other doors next to her and across.
Heading down the hallway, she finds herself alone with only a few spare herbivores of various sizes. The line to the showers wasn't as long as she noticed that she was up earlier than most. Getting into the shower didn't take long for her and she didn't take a lot of time to soak in the water. After being thorough in cleaning herself she exits the shower with a robe covering her and a towel wrapping her hair. Returning to her room, she puts her pajamas on her bed and dries her hair.
After putting on her school uniform, she uses a red headband to keep most of her hair out of her eyes. Grabbing her school bag, she heads towards the cafeteria and orders a herbivore breakfast. Finding a place to herself alone on a table, she eats the food at her own pace, the world almost muted and numb when she is trapped in her mind. She finishes her food uninterrupted and drops off her tray and heads to her first class and continues another regular day.
While heading to a classroom, she sees what looks like shadows moving in the distance, but remains unbothered. Almost as if she is either numb or ignoring the unnatural as she moves almost robotically toward the lecture hall.
The classes pass on with monotony, the repetition of a regular day.
After School - Dinner
Finding something to keep her mind busy as the girl doesn't want to be alone with her thoughts, she wanders outside after she finishes her dinner. She sees a familiar Dwarf Rabbit with a lunch tray, near an elevated ledge, being harassed by a female Harlequin rabbit and her cronies. Not being phased, she walks up to the Dwarf rabbit at a steady pace as the Harlequin rabbit is about to throw the bucket at the Dwarf rabbit.
When the Harlequin rabbit threw the bucket of water, it did not hit its intended target as the human grabbed the bucket after dropping her bag and got wet. Everyone except the human was shocked at what occurred and the Harlequin and her cronies were even more shocked as the girl still had a straight look on her face.
The Harlequin rabbit was about to say something only for the human girl to say in a flat tone "Just walk away, nothing else." Despite wanting to say the last word, the Harlequin rabbit feels an aura that is preventing her from speaking, so she and her cronies just left.
When they left, the wet human girl turns to the Dwarf rabbit and asks with the same flat tone "Another issue because of one of your "flings", Haru?"
The Dwarf rabbit, Haru, looks at the human girl with a face mixed with concern and frustration and replies "That doesn't matter right now, are you okay, Serah? I thought I told you last time that you didn't need to protect me!"
The human girl, Serah, replies "It's not a problem as I don't have fur."
Haru replies exasperated "But you can still get sick. Now how about you take some advice from a friend who cares and go dry yourself off."
Serah stares into the eyes of Haru for a few seconds and says with a gentle light in her eyes and a flat tone "Okay."
Night - Full Moon
The fog starts to set in as Legoshi, a gray wolf in the drama club, is being a lookout in front of the stage building. His nervousness and abject desire to not be here are evident in his face and posture as he tries to watch out for security and hide in the corner of the entrance.
Legoshi thought with worry while walking back and forth in front of the entrance 'If this gets out, the drama club will get in trouble too. I could get…suspended for this? I just wish they'd hurry up so we could leave. Security's been tighter after the murder.' The sound of what seems to be a branch breaking is heard which puts him on alert. It's only when he sees a grasshopper next to his left shoe does he relax.
"Hey, little guy, what are you doing here…maybe I should ask myself that right now." A sudden scent catches his attention and he doesn't notice a figure approaching the fountain in the courtyard. Legoshi takes in a few breaths through his nose, letting the scent envelope his mind as a silhouette of a human female figure enters his mind.
'An omnivore?' Suddenly, a mixture of nerves and muscles tensing start coursing from the bottom of his toes to the top of his head. Every sense in his body is on high alert as his body starts acting against his own volition.
Serah takes some time to check herself if she is still wet, after another self-body check, she decides to take a few minutes to take in the moonlight. Letting herself bathe in the moonlight for a minute, she then feels a wild presence near her, her senses can tell that it's hiding.
Moving slowly and carefully as if she didn't notice to try and get to an advantageous spot, Serah decides to make a run for it suddenly to confuse the pursuer temporarily. It didn't work as Serah can sense the pursuer behind her, so she decides the only thing she can do. She turns to face her pursuer as the male carnivore figure tackles her and wraps his arms around her.
Close to a boy's chest, Serah can feel the rising and falling of his chest and the fast rhythm of his heartbeat, whether by excitement or stress, she couldn't tell. She feels his fingers squeeze her arms tighter, which only restricts her movements more and draws a little blood. A part of her wonders how she is going to escape, another side of her is curious, curious about what's going on inside this stranger's mind.
"I-I'm g-going t-t-to e-eat you!"
'He must be at war with himself.' She guesses in her head as she feels his left-hand grips her arm. She feels that to get out of this, he might need a distraction, something to flood his senses. She hopes she won't regret this in the future as she takes a deep breath and recalls a song from her past.
Legoshi P.O.V.
I'm scared, I can't stop myself from devouring her, my mind has no control, and I can only hope she can forgive me, whoever she is.
*Insert Fire Emblem Fates OST - Return to Elegance*
"You are the ocean's gray waves, destined to seek life beyond the shore just out of reach…"
Huh, that's a pretty song, is she singing it, is she comforting herself or comforting me? Wait, my mouth stopped, what's happening?
"Yet the waters ever change, flowing like time. The path is yours to climb."
I can feel some sort of control of my hands, so I try to use them to loosen my grip and see if I could let her go. But I can feel my instincts trying to take back control…I want to stop…
"Legoshi!"
3rd person POV
Serah heard the person's name being called which caught his attention and distracted him enough to loosen his grip. Serah immediately escaped but came out of the carnivore's grip with three claw marks on her arm which drew blood but continued to run away. Heading back to the dormitory tries to be as quiet as possible while heading to her room to not cause panic or get in trouble.
Reaching her room while trying to stifle the bleeding, she quickly enters quietly and rushes towards her closet. Grabbing the first aid kit from the drawer under the closet, she first gets a bottle of water and paper towels to clean the wound.
Being thorough with the treatment of her wound, she sees that the wound isn't that deep and will probably leave small scars. After wrapping the wound in bandages, she finally takes a few breaths to calm herself down.
In realization, Serah places her right hand over her left breast, close to the heart area, and tries to focus on that feeling. Feeling a heavy amount of exhaustion, she decides that the best thing to do is to go to bed.
Making sure her door is locked, she takes off her uniform and lays it on the chair next to her desk. Putting on her blue pajamas, she gets to bed and tries to let the darkness of her room give her rest.
Water, an endless ocean whose darkness never reveals what lies in the distance. Serah, in her uniform, lies on the surface of the endless waters watching the blackened sky as if staring at the endless abyss.
'This place'
She hears the constant stream of drops that sound similar to A in C Major, the pure sound of a tuning fork.
'I thought that I would never come back to this place'
Serah closes her eyes and lets her being be washed in the sound as it courses through her entire being. A wave of sound pulses from top to bottom and back again waves of sound creating drops on the surface.
'Is this some sort of sign, that something is changing?'
A light in the distance shines through the surface, which catches Serah's attention as the light spreads. It eventually gets closer to her until…
Morning - Dormitory Bedroom
Serah's eyes open up suddenly, she sits up quickly, and a strange series of senses that are flooding in like a tsunami. The light of the sun peeking through the curtain, the bright and gentle green color of the wallpaper that makes up her room, the sudden sense of the soft sheets. What mostly catches her wandering mind is her heartbeat, a steady rhythm that changes based on her feelings, right now a calm and steady rhythm.
She gets off of her bed and heads to the showers, occasionally, her eyes wander about and her ears catch the wandering conversations of the herbivores of her dorm. From subjects of boys with the taller herbivores to the dangers of being in the middle of the room from the smaller animals. Reaching the showers, Serah lets herself get lost in the sensations, the water flowing down her hair and skin, the sound of water hitting the floor. She lets herself be absorbed for a few more minutes until she realizes that she shouldn't hold up the shower and finishes her cleaning.
Returning to her room, she puts on her uniform and was about to grab her bag when she notices something. A yellow ribbon lays there on her desk, almost like her eyes were to find it, like a sign. Serah seemed hesitant to wear it, that is until a voice from her youth gave her a push.
"You know, I always thought your hair would look even prettier with a ribbon."
"I don't know, I'm not sure I see myself with a ribbon."
"Hmhm, an accessory doesn't hurt, it does look really cute on you."
Gardening Club - After School
Haru waters the flowers lined up at the edge of the roof blocked in by a fence, she continues this as a routine. The door opens and she is surprised by what she sees, Serah wearing her hair in a low ponytail with a yellow ribbon, her hair having curls at the end of the ponytail. Haru notices the hair, the wound, and the nervous look on Serah's face, the question is…what should Haru ask about first.
Serah says with a bashful tone "Umm, s-something happened last night, and it might have brought something out."
Haru puts down the watering can and gets a good look at Serah up close, giving a very inquisitive look as she looks closer at her hair, the injury on Serah's left arm, and a deep look at her nervous face.
Haru asks "Does it hurt?"
Serah shakes her head and answers "No, it stopped aching halfway through the day. It's not that big of a wound anyway."
Haru looks at her with suspicion for half a minute before smiling and saying "Well, I like how your hair looks and you now don't have that blank look on your face. I can still remember when we first met…"
*flashback*
Haru was always dutiful when it comes to her sanctuary, feeling a sense of relation with the flowers and how delicate they can be.
Suddenly, the door to the roof opens and she sees a strange sight to her, and the more she looks the more strange it gets to her.
A human with straight blue hair that reaches her back, held back from her eyes by a red headband that matches her hair. Her face is straight and calm, almost blank and lacking emotion as if an aura of grey surrounds and envelopes her feminine and nearly full figure. Her eyes are almost a dull emerald green as if a beautiful gem has lost its shine.
*flashback ends*
Haru finishes as she and Serah take care of the plants "I was worried for a while when you joined, you almost acted like a machine. I had to remind myself that you weren't dead a couple of times."
Serah replies bashfully "Sorry, I guess I should've figured that people would find me to be unsettling then."
Haru chuckles and corrects "It's okay, I was mostly joking when I said that, but it's good seeing yourself expressing yourself more."
Serah pauses herself on the leaf of a blue flower and says "I'm not sure it's that easy, I find myself returning to my previous self sometimes."
Haru looks at Serah rubbing her thumb and index finger on the leaf and says with a smile "The fact that you're starting to find your emotions again is the best start." She then places her small paw on Serah's hand and continues "I'm sure this will lead to something good."
Haru then turns around, grabs one of the watering cans, and says "Let's not think about this right now, we're almost done with the garden's watering. Now I think it's about time for them to receive some nurturing." Haru had a mischievous look in her eyes as she added "Maybe a song can give some life to these flowers."
Serah turns to Haru with a fearful gaze in her eyes and asks "H-how do you know that?!"
Haru chuckles with a faux devious smirk and says "I happened to keep my ear close to your door one time and happened to catch you singing once to yourself last week." The despair is evident on her face as her skin paled and she started shaking. Haru chuckles and says to catch Serah by surprise "I want to hear you sing, I'm sure you have a beautiful voice, and I'm sure the flowers would love to hear your song."
Serah was unsure, looking at the flowers and Haru back to back until she looked below the rooftop to the ground to find it empty. She then takes a step back, takes a deep breath to calm her rapid heartbeat, and then…
Lost in Thoughts All Alone - Birthright Verse
"In the White light, a hand reaches through. A double-edged blade cuts your heart in two. Waking dreams fade away. Embrace the brand new day."
Legoshi POV
"Why do I need to be here with you?" Kibi asked me with frustration.
I explained, "They'd be scared if a wolf showed up and demanded flowers out of nowhere." I think my gloom is still evident in my voice, last night still bothers me, I sometimes just wish to be a shadow. Suddenly I catch a series of scents coming from the gardening club, not only from a collection of various flowers, but also a rabbit, and a…uh oh.
Kibi opens the door and what we saw was surprising for us both and terrifying for me as I was unprepared.
"Sing with me a song of birthrights and love. The light scatters to the sky above. Dawn breaks through the gloom, white as a bone. Lost in thoughts all alone."
The garden of evil, where the worst scenario for me is happening, and yet that familiar voice is unnaturally soothing. I can feel a strange calmness from it as she finishes. That's when our eyes meet again, and I start trying to think of something, anything, I could use to get out of here.
The Dwarf Rabbit, probably her friend, asks "Can we help you?"
Maybe a stomach ache, a bathroom emergency, I don't think I can play with that. The only other possibility I can use is another errand I need to do.
Before I could even use the excuse Kibi used it by saying "Oh man, there was something important I needed to do!" He then whispers to me "Sorry Legoshi, I'll repay you with ant shakes." He then runs off before I could even react, leaving me alone with the Rabbit, and my almost victim.
3rd Person POV
Haru asks Legoshi "Are you here to pick up flowers for an upcoming event or something?"
Legoshi replies nervously "A-ah! Yes. I. Am?" The noticeable silence is deafening to the two, as Serah was trying to hide her blushing by watering the flowers. Although the two are silent for differing reasons, both feel a sense of awkwardness, although Haru tries to keep a casual stance and face.
The silence stopped when Haru said "Rumors always spread absurdly fast, somehow the bad ones spread even faster. Maybe I scared him." This caught Legoshi's attention as Haru asks "Aren't you scared too?" Legoshi gave a confused look as he was never exposed to any rumors about this Dwarf Rabbit before.
Haru and Legoshi moved towards the garden as Serah is moving some potted plants, Haru says in observation, while looking at a design sheet "Hmm, let me see, you need roses? We've got plenty, so how about you look around?"
Legoshi replies with a small stutter "O-o-okay."
Haru asks "Which club are you in?"
Legoshi replies "Drama club. I'm the..stage crew. We need the flowers for the auditorium." Legoshi gets distracted by seeing Haru as he never had a lengthy conversation with a small herbivore before. His gaze keeps slipping towards Serah in nervousness and worry, as he just wants to get this done and leave.
Haru looks up at Legoshi and says "One thing, I have a request." This startles Legoshi as he feels like he is going to stay here longer, but listens anyway.
Haru asks "I can't just give away my little ones that easily." Legoshi looks confused as Haru finishes "Could you help Serah carry those pots to the back? With her injury, she can't lift as much as she could without straining it, so I think you can help." Legoshi looks at the pots by the club room shed but is shocked when Haru puts his tail into his suspenders as she explains "I don't want your tail knocking down my plants. Don't worry, I won't chop it off. Anyways, I'm gonna check the amount of some of the flowers to see what I can donate, and don't worry about Serah, she may seem aloof, but she's nice. Take care." She then heads to another part of the garden, leaving Legoshi with Serah, who is standing next to him.
Serah comments bluntly "Your friend was rude for leaving just because of some rumors."
Legoshi, shocked by the bluntness, replies almost on autopilot "Y-yeah." Legoshi helps Serah move the pots to a more sunny spot, sometimes catching glances at her, unsure why he's always looking.
Serah asks while carrying a couple of empty buckets "So, which grade are you in?"
Legoshi replies with a nervous look "I'm a junior."
Serah replies while putting the buckets under a faucet "I see. I'm a senior, but I think we're the same age, so I don't think you should be nervous."
Legoshi asks curiously "Where are the others?"
Serah replies while waiting for the bucket to fill "Haru said that the last member graduated four years ago, so she took it over and I joined last year. It's just been the two of us so far."
Legoshi comments "It must be hard. Just the two of you."
Serah replies as she stops the faucet from pairing more water "Sometimes, but Haru cares about her flowers, and I guess this place could help me."
Legoshi looks over to Serah and asks with a curious glance "Uhh, with what, if you don't mind me…" Legoshi notices her wandering gaze, almost lost as she stares at a rectangular planting with beautiful white flowers with five petals and three stems. The petals almost glow ethereally under the sun, her eyes look upon them, almost lost in thought.
Serah replies in a slight whisper "A hole that I can't seem to fill."
Legoshi looks at her as she tries to pick up the bucket of water but almost drops it as her injury starts to hurt. Legoshi quickly takes Serah's hand with the bucket and the both start looking into each other's eyes. Legoshi catches fragments of Serah from her Emerald eyes.
Legoshi immediately stops himself and takes the bucket from her hand and asks "Uh-ummm, where do you want this bucket to go." His eyes dart around as he still feels the sensation of their hands touching and doesn't want to look into her eyes.
Serah stares at him for a minutes before pointing towards an area with multiple pails. She then walks towards the area as Legoshi follows right behind her, his gaze wandering to the bandage.
Legoshi POV
'Don't ask her anything.'
"Umm."
'Stop, what are you doing?!'
"Your left arm…"
'Hey!'
"What happened?"
The girl stares at me as she pours some water into a pail with a plastic cup from the same box with the pails. I sometimes can't help but feel scared when stared like that, I feel examined as if she is able to look into my soul.
She then replies "There was an accident last night. I got injured then, but it's not a big deal to me, so please don't make it a big deal too." This surprised me as she turned and finished filling the pail with water and headed towards a section of the flower garden. She adds "Since your done, you can ask talk with Haru about the roses.
Why can't I stop looking at her? I don't feel relieved or pressured, I just can't stop. I wanna talk with her more.
3rd person POV
Legoshi enters the shed and says "I'm finished with the plants."
Haru replies "That's great, now they can get plenty of sun and get healthier. Besides the roses, I wanna return the favor, what would you like to eat?"
Legoshi was lost in thought, one of them being 'I wanna know your friend's name. I wanna talk with her more, wanna know more about her.' Legoshi has difficulty getting his words out as his thoughts continue 'Would that be too presumptuous, just asking about her friend, would she probably protect her from me.' Trying to figure out what to say he puts his hands to his head to see if they can help him figure out what he wants to ask.
Haru says as she makes a conclusion, "Ah, I see." She then close the blinds and starts undressing as she continues "I'm not usually up to it after taking care of the flowers." Legoshi doesn't notice as he continues to get lost in thought as Haru nearly finishes undressing her uniform and says "It would also be my first time with a carnivore, Is this your first time with an herbivore?" Legoshi gets frustrated with himself as he can't seem to find the words to ask.
Legoshi finally opens his eyes to see Haru in her underwear saying "It's fine to be a little rough, I can handle it." Legoshi suddenly starts feeling a mixture of embarrassment, fear, and a heavy amount of anxiety as he starts sweating.
3rd person POV
Serah takes a couple of flowers from her rectangular pot and was about to head past the shed when Legoshi stumbles out in a bout of panic. He accidentally slammed his own tail as he closed the shed's sliding door.
He quickly says "S-s-sorry! I'm so sorry!" He then quickly heads towards the entrance and leaves the club room in a panic.
Confused about why he left in a hurry, Serah looks into the shed to find Haru in her underwear covered by a sheet with a confused look on her face.
Serah says with a flat face and tone "put on some clothes, you gonna get a cold with big bites."
Haru gave an unamused face and replies "That's rude."
Serah then asks "Was there a misunderstanding?"
Haru nods and replies "It seemed so, and what he did after I seduced him was cover me and run." Haru then chuckles and adds "What a weird guy."
Chloe then walks away and comments "Innocent and kind. Different than the last guy." With flowers in hand she leaves the club room, with a destination in mind.