Music of the Night

Chapter 86

Chapter 86

Aoba simply rolled his eyes, leaving Pina to resume his late night chat. All he could think about was how the flying fox in front of him was listening to the flowers much like Arthurs. He chuckled at the thought of those two being long-lost siblings despite the species.

"Can you see well in the dark?"

The bald eagle blinked, a small smile was formed on his beak. Her eyes were like the round amber orbs while she was facing him. He nodded, gesturing her to talk near the toolshed. After Haru left, Arthur does his best to make the club warm and welcoming for both herbivores and carnivores.

"Is there anything that you need for the gardening club? I help Arthur sometimes despite being from the drama club."

Kalliste shook her head. She pointed to a few plants, her ears perked up, probably listening to the plant-lingo that he accepted most bats have. It never ceased to amaze him of the Chiropteras' abilities. They are like birds but more furry and have sharper hearing.

"I don't like the new rules," said Kalliste glumly. "Everyone's scared of each other and carnivores are talking about the Black Market freely, as if our herbivore friends don't even exist. Aoba, why is this happening? Did we do something wrong?"

The bald eagle shook his head, spreading his wings slightly to comfort her. He ruffled his feathers when the flying fox buried her face into his chest. "No, Kalliste. We're just animals going about our daily lives. Everything outside the school is so scared that they managed to climbed over to the school walls. I bet all schools across the world might experience this."

There was silence except the humming of insects in the garden and the distant chatting of Pina with his long-distance call. He noticed Kalliste's ears perked up, probably hearing the flowers. With the new changes happening at Cherryton, Aoba knew both the drama and gardening club need each other's support. 

'That way you can to be close to the flying fox,' the voice at the back of his head teased. He clicked his beak, snapping off those thoughts. Kalliste reminded him of Arthur, not because they're both bats. It was how much they both thought about things outside of the box.

"It sucks that I will have to wait another two years before I can even fly," the flying fox decided to change the subject. She stretched her wings, which were large enough to envelop him into a leathery cocoon if she wanted to. "I want to travel across the world to try all of the chocolates in the world."

"So you want to do something with chocolate?"

The flying fox nodded eagerly, telling him about all kinds of things she wanted to do with chocolate from crafting shapes to making the best drinks with them.

Aoba smiled, listening to her ramble. He loved the way she talks and describe things, which reminded him of Arthur. He hoped his fluffy friend was okay. The poor thing had been through so much since his exchanged to the school itself.

"Hey," Kalliste tugged his wing gently. He gazed into her eyes, noting how the both of them are almost the same height. Her ears drooped slightly before she pulled out a packet of Docky, a chocolate stick snack that was very popular. "Do you want some?"

She offered him one, to which he took gingerly. The both of them enjoyed the night in the gardening club, with Aoba sitting on the ground while Kalliste hung upside down on one of the planted trees. Aoba sighed, placing a wing tip across Kalliste's leathery one.

"I hope things get better. More importantly, I hope Arthur gets back!"

The bald eagle rubbed his wing over hers. He hoped his fluffy friend is safe and back in one piece. No matter what happened, Arthur proved to everyone that he's not as helpless as everyone had pegged him to be.

"Me too, Kalliste," said Aoba, feeling their wings fold together in a grasp. "Me too."

...

Arthur covered his ears. The Shishigumi were arguing among themselves while he was riding on Legosi's shoulder. They were looking for the hideout of the Kopi Luwak gang. Louis was walking beside the grey wolf where his footsteps sounded unnatural due to the prosthetic while the shambling sound of Isaiah was at the rear.

'It's very hard to heard when there's a cacophony,' he thought to himself.  While listening, he thought about his relationship with Mizuchi, who voice messaged him about meeting up. Either for afternoon tea or dinner. Both of those options are nice and he had been telling her about his day and vice versa. He recalled a few words at Cherryton and from Genji that struck him, letting himself close his eyes.

'It's not going to work!'

'Life is going to be difficult if you two get together.'

'Your mutant kids are going to be a cautionary tale.'

"Are you okay, Arthur?" Legosi's deep growly voice interrupted his thoughts. He felt the gentle touches from the grey wolf's claw. "My shoulder feels wet."

"Oh, I'm alright," Arthur assured him, dabbing his eyes with a wing. He hoped that his smile was convincing enough despite knowing deep down that his expressions are just obvious. "Don't worry about me, Legosi. We have to focus on Melon, right?"

He had a feeling that Legosi wanted to say something just by feeling the grey wolf's ears droop. Arthur prayed that no one saw his tears. The only downside of his blindness was the inability to cover up just to assure everyone that he was and WILL be okay.

When they arrived at the so called hideout, his ears picked up a few clicks from above. He lifted his head so that he was at the direction of the multiple sounds. He moved his mouth silently to send his warning.

"Woah, so this is the bat from the news!" one of the voices squeaked.

"And he's wearing the band! He's one of them!"

"I wonder what's the boss going to do with him?"

"Do you think he follows the Zotz Trial?"

The Honduran white bat only tilted his head. He had to be on guard since this wasn't the first time he had dealt with Vampyrums in his life. Their relationship with him were a lot deeper than the same category they were labelled in.

"Welcome, Shishigumi and guests. I've been expecting you," a voice that reminded him of a small cat greeted them with a purr. "My name is Deshico. I think we both know what is at stake."

"We need your info about Melon," he heard Louis demand in a steady tone. "There is no one except your organisation that specialises in knowing hybrids and mixed-species couple."

Arthur could imagine the boss nodding his head with a smile. His ears picked up on whispers from the vampire bats, talking about a Komodo dragon. He hoped they were not referring to Isaiah, who was talking with Agata about something.

"As you know," Deshico continued, walking across what he assumed the wooden sound to be a table. "Mixed-species are a sin to society. Not only are they ostracised, these creatures will struggle in their identity. Some say they are a herbivore when really their exterior is a carnivore's."

Instinctively, Arthur climbed onto Legosi's head to face where Deshico's voice was. He could've sworn that he could hear him smile.

"Ah, the blind bat. I have been expecting you the most! Please, leave your friends and follow me."

Arthur jumped off so that he could glide onto the table. He hoped the others at Cherryton are okay from all of this.

More importantly, he hoped Mizuchi is okay.