Chapter 22

Arthur was woken up by the nurse for his morning medicine before having breakfast. The Honduran white bat was reluctant but accepted it since he wants to get better. He was told that he could return to his dorm by the afternoon since his stitch might heal for a while.

"But," the nurse warn him. "I don't want you to do strenuous physical work that might tear the seams. No carrying things, no fights, et cetera."

Arthur only nodded in understanding. It's going to be difficult but he hoped that this problem will pass. After all, he has played instruments with one hand-wing before.

Just then, his ears detected footsteps coming towards the infirmary. He tilted his head, wondering who it was.

"Arthur!" the female voice he recognised tackled him into a hug much to his surprised. He heard another set of footsteps after her.

"I'm okay, Haru," he assured her. "Just mind where you are holding since I have these stitches. And hi, Legosi."

"Okay? Okay?!" Haru sniffed. "You came back late last night all bloodied and everyone thought Bill the tiger attacked you! Legosi, tell him that the drama club was thinking about suspending him."

"He didn't attack me!" Arthur shouted, much to his own surprised. Both Haru and Legosi were stunned at how the bat just snapped. "Bill and I were kidnapped. While we were hostages, the both of us got injured before we escaped."

Legosi told the nurse to give the three of them some privacy because he caught a distinct scent on the bat despite him being coated with disinfectant. The grey detected a scent that is associated with felines. But it was not from Bill...

Sensing both the dwarf rabbit and grey wolf want an explanation, Arthur told them the story on how both him and Bill were kidnapped by the Shishigumi for food and souvenirs. He was certain that they were going to die in that mansion.

"They didn't try to make you strip or something?" Haru prompted. Legosi placed a large hand over the rabbit's shoulder to comfort her. He knew how traumatic she must have felt during that time.

"What? No!" Arthur shook his head. He was confused by Haru's question. "They just bound me as if I were a prop for a dagger-throwing act in a circus. Wait, you two know the Shishigumi too?"

Both Legosi and Haru exchanged glances whether to tell the bat about their experience with those organised crime of lions. It was Legosi who talked softly about his encounters with the Shishigumi and how Haru was kidnapped to be eaten. Arthur listened to the story with interest and his cloudy blue eyes widened.

Haru wondered if it was difficult since Arthur wouldn't know what he actually looks like since he can't see his own reflection and emotions. Hell, the way how Arthur explained his encounter with the Shishigumi compared to her was more like he was picked on by a brute of a bully.

"That's scary..." Arthur managed to speak after Legosi's narration. "I..I never knew they were that vicious. Because with me and Bill, it was like a typical cat behaviour of playing with their catch. I was surprised that they allowed me to convince them about food alternatives, let alone let me play a tune on their piano."

"Luck is on your side, it seems," Legosi commented.

"I thought I really was going to be a bat burrito for them," the Honduran white bar wiggled his ears, trying to get rid of the irritable dust he felt in the ear canal.

Haru shrugged and patted the bat's shoulder. "Hey, the good news is that you're alive. Say, once you've recovered, let's plant something new into the garden. You got any suggestions?"

Arthur pondered, tapping his patched up chin with a single digit of his finger.

"Hmm....maybe some herbs or tea leaves. You told me that you sell flowers to pay for the club's expenses, right? Why not we try and grow herbs and sell them to the bakeries? I bet they'd be happen to buy off students."

Haru smiled before looking at Legosi. Both of them agreed that this was one way to make the gardening club more presentable despite having only two members at the moment.

"You're onto something, Arthur," Haru admitted. "I'll see what I can do. Get better now, you hear? Don't worry, I hope to plant some poppy and we could cultivate the seeds."

Arthur's expression was something to cherish. "Wait, I didn't mean-"

"Hey, I'm just kidding!" Haru laughed, poor Arthur thinking that the club president was going to milk the poppies and sell them. "We have to go now. Get some rest!"

"See you soon, Arthur," Legosi waved at the bat goodbye but realised that Arthur couldn't see the wolf waving at him. But Arthur just smiled and decided to finish the breakfast the nurse had given him:

Warm porridge with green tea.

While in the process of finishing his meal, his ears picked up another set of footsteps coming inside the medical wing. He was trying to make out who it was but the footsteps were a little heavier than Haru's but not heavy like Legosi's.

"Hi, I heard what happened," the familiar voice he heard when he was in town said it awkwardly. Arthur was surprised that she's visiting him considering her status. He didn't hear the proud tone in her voice but rather...

Concern.

"I'll be alright," Arthur assured her. "It's just a tear in the membrane and cuts. How have you been, Mizuchi?"

"The same," she scoffed, thinking back about how her friends Riley and Tanya have been bombarding her with questions about her outing. She didn't revealed to them about meeting this bat.

It's not because she's embarrassed to be around him but...

She fears for his life. As a blind animal, the world will be their enemies even in the most tranquil setting.

"I'm afraid I can't attend classes today," Arthur spoke up, making the harlequin rabbit look into his foggy eyes curiously. "Sure, it's a blessing but then the next day the teachers will ask us to recap what we learnt the day before or test us. It's such a demand when we could only grasp so little."

Mizuchi giggled at the bat's rambles. "Yeah, I know how that feels."

There was a silence between them until Arthur decided to break the ice. "So, do you have a hobby when you're relaxed?"

'Should I tell him?' she wondered. But then, he has nothing to lose except his sights anyways. His eyes don't look that disturbing now that she's close to him.

"You know, just following some animals on social media, watching dramas on my laptop and read."

Arthur nodded, his ears giving their full attention. "Well, I might be old fashion but I read those adventure and fantasy novels. They're so descriptive, so detailed are the prose and the worlds that's been written."

Mizuchi looked around to listen if anyone is hearing their conversation. Sensing there's no one except the nurse, she gently grasped his two fingers. Arthur tilted his head by the sudden contact.

"That sounds nice, when you put it that way. Maybe next time... we should talk more?"

Arthur smiled, making the Harlequin rabbit look away. "I'd like that. If our paths ever crossed."

"Yeah...."

Again, there was a pause but this time Mizuchi spoke up. "I should get to class. I hope you recover. Really, I mean it."

"And, thank you for visiting me," Arthur directed his head at the source.

Mizuchi hoped that Arthur is not a mind-reader. Because the way he talks and how he accepted her holding his two fingers was something she wouldn't mind doing with him again.

In secret.

...

Arthur was back in his dorm, freshening up before checking the voice messages on his phone. He hoped to to finish his homework and notes before he could play some music for himself.

He was debating whether to play his harmonica or recorder since he's feeling a bit lightheaded today.

The bat sighed, knowing he has a lot to catch up. Which is why he brewed cardamom tea and turmeric tea to boost up the dopamine that will lift his spirits because he knew even during his Gryphon Cross years that homework is every student's worst enemy besides the exams.

Once he had completed at least half of his work, he decided to take a break by sipping a nice cup of turmeric tea with some ginger snap biscuits before he could play a song. He figured a harmonica will do because he's been thinking about an adventurous thought.

He wondered what would his fate be now that he's a Cherryton student. Will he have adventures even if it's as mundane as going grocery shopping? Will he explore places he's never been to? Oh, such possibilities even if he is confined in his dorm with the music he cherishes.

Suddenly, there was a knock on the door and Arthur placed an empty glass at the doorway to listen.

"I heard about what happened to you yesterday," the voice on the other end almost made Arthur's heart drop to his stomach. "Bill went on and on about his side of the story but I want to hear yours."

Arthur was hesitant. He had headbutted him on their first meeting and now he wants to talk to him. The bat slowly unlocked his door and let the visitor inside before locking again.

"Have I...done something wrong?"

"Well, it depends on how you would tell me. Then, I'll be the judge of that."

With his whole body quivering with fear, Arthur wrapped his wings around his body for comfort before he recapped the predicament that he and Bill got themselves in.