"Haru!"

The white dwarf rabbit turns to you with a smile on her face, her ears twitching with excitement. She urgently waves at you and when you finally arrive by her side, her arms wrap around you. This surprises you at first, you're not familiar with a lot of physical affection, but surely enough, you hug her back. It's kind of difficult due to your height difference but you manage by slightly bending your knees, so that you guys are at a more equal level.

Her cheerful expression turns sour when she notices your bandaged arm.

"Oh my, what happened to your arm? Were you attacked yesterday?!"

As her face grows more and more concerned, your brain starts working like crazy. You can't use the same excuse that you used with your roommates because she had been with you for such a long time the day before. You also couldn't use the "I fell into a rose bush" excuse because she's an expert in flowers and probably a genius with injuries caused by flowers, she'd immediately demand to take care of your wound.

"It's alright, Haru, I'm fine, don't worry," reassuringly, you kneel down to meet her eyes straight on, "I just tripped and fell on my way to the dorm yesterday and scraped my arm pretty badly. It's nothing major but definitely not a pretty sight, so I bandaged it. Thanks for worrying though."

Suspicious, she narrows her eyes at you. "How clumsy do you have to be to need a bandage for a simple scrape?"

Faking embarrassment, you exhale slowly, "Let's just say that if being clumsy was a currency, I'd be a goddamn billionaire."

Her hesitant expression cracks and not a second later, she's laughing at your expense. And not just a simple laugh, it's a full on 'holding her stomach because she's laughing so hard' laugh.

"Yeah, yeah, I get it," you grumble, "You don't need to rub it in."

"Aw, is our poor human embarrassed? Watch your step, we don't want you to injure yourself any further now, do we?" She teases, still grinning.

"Oh shut up!"

"Alright, Arlight, I'll stop," Haru raises her hands in surrender, then grips yours and begins to drag you along, "C'mon, you wanted to see the gardening club, didn't you?"

Eager to be around familiar and colourful plants, you nod frantically. It's reassuring to know that, no matter how much society changed, plants always stayed the same; colourful, calm and peaceful.

Haru leads you to the rooftop and stops in front of an ominous door. To be fair, you didn't know this school even had a rooftop, that's wasn't really on the map, and that door does not look like it leads to anything other than the Winter Soldier or Godzilla himself.

"Ready to be blown away?" the small rabbit asks mischievously and you can only gulp and anxiously nod.

What if she brought me here only to sacrifice me to some weird animal god? Do these animals even have a religion, some kind of higher power that they believe in? If they do, how do they picture their entities or deities? Did Jesus exist here and if so, what kind of animal was he? Do they share the same history as us, just as animals?

Bright light blinds you as she swings the door open and for a moment, you can only see white. Then, vibrant colours flood your sight; blues, purples, yellows, white, red, pink, green, orange, periwinkle and so many others.

"Welcome to gardening club, Y/n!"

Plants and flowers in every colour of the rainbow decorate the rooftop and among them, small insects such as bees and butterflies mingle go about their business.

This is the Garden of Eden, isn't it?

"So...," Haru inquires, "What do you think?"

You on the other hand, are still awestruck by the magnificent picture before you.

"I'm in heaven."

Her pitch-black eyes widen and a small blush spreads across her cheeks. "Well, uh...isn't that a bit extreme? I'm glad you like it so much but I wouldn't-"

"No Haru, there's no doubt about it. This is heaven. You cannot change my mind about this, I've made it a fact now," you interrupt her.

"I swear to everything good, I need to paint this or I will literally die. If that happens, bury my body here, I don't need a gravestone."

You flinch in surprise at her giggle and turn to look at her, eyes laced with confusion.

"You sure are odd, Y/n. But I'll strike you a deal," her eyes glint with trickery, "I'll let you paint up here if you become a member of the club...or at least help me out every once in a while."

You don't even need to think about it.

"You got yourself a deal, sugarbun." With a smirk, you shake her hand to make it official and watch her snicker at the nickname.

"Call me that again and I'm never talking to you again, kid."

"Noted, chief."

***

"Legoshi!"

"Huh?!Uh, yeah?"

The young wolf is quickly ripped from his thoughts by the head of the stage crew, Dom the peafowl. In his hands, the costume of his dead friend Tem felt heavy.

"I was asking if you'd pick up the flowers from the gardening club. See?" He holds up a drawing, "I want to decorate the auditorium indoor with roses. You know, to go with the final scene. So would you mind helping me out with that?"

"Gardening club?" Legoshi asks timidly, unmotivated to complete the task, "Isn't that the one run by herbivores? Is it okay for me to go over there?"

"That's exactly why you should go!" Kibi the Anteater pipes in, "You're a second year, you need to work on your communication skills."

"On one condition..."

Not long after, the anteater finds himself accompanying the grey wolf to the club on the rooftop, mildly annoyed. (Though the author really feels with Legoshi right here, introverts unite!)

"Did you really need me to come with you?"

"They'd be scared if a wolf suddenly shows up at their door, demanding flowers."

His ears hang low as he speaks because no matter how much he tells himself he's used to it, the fear and hatred he receives because he's a large breed carnivore still hurts him deep down.

Hmm?

Suddenly, he catches it. The scent from that night, the scent of heavenly vanilla.

Your scent.

It's the girl from last night!

Kibi opens the door and just like you, Legoshi is momentarily blinded by the bright light and the array of vibrant colours.

Then, he sees you. You and a small white rabbit, standing close to each other across from him and almost glowing among the colourful flowers. You stand slightly behind the confident rabbit, caught off guard by the guests.

She's such a small female....and so timid.

His heartbeat starts to go haywire.

The devil's garden.

"Can I help you?" the rabbit asks them.

Shoot. I have to get out of here, uhm...but why? A stomach ache? Bathroom? No, uhm...I suddenly remembered an important errand I have to do, yes, that should work.

"I uh-" He starts, only to be interrupted by the frantic anteater.

"I forgot about an errand!"

"Huh?" Alarmed, he glances at his club member.

"Shoot! I have to go back right now!"

What?!

"Hey-"

"I'll buy the antshakes next time," Kibi whispers to him, "You got this. Thanks a million!"

"Excuse me?" the rabbit pipes in, whilst you only stare at the males in growing confusion, "Aren't you guys here to pick up flowers for the welcome ceremony? Or...?"

"Uh-Uh, yeah!"Legoshi stutters, "It's just..."

"This wolf will take care of it!" And with that, Kibi ditches him, like a true friend.

"Wait what?! Hey!"

But it's too late because the smaller animal had already closed the big door, trapping him with the two girls.

Now I'm alone with them.

It's awkward between you three, the only sound being the wind and the insects going about their day. You gracelessly let out a low whistle, shifting your weight on the balms of your feet.

Man, talk about awkward silence. I am not cut out for this club stuff, at least not when it comes to actually talking to people about club business.

You perk up when you hear Haru let out an exhausted sigh, thankful when she begins to speak.

"Those rumors always spread so quickly. He probably got scared of me."

Huh?

For once, both you and the wolf share a thought and you sneak a peek at the small rabbit.

No offense Haru but why would anyone be scared of you? Is there something I should know about? Are you secretly some Mafia boss' sugar baby or something?

"Aren't you as well?"

Legoshi's posture falters more, as guilt creeps in on his mind.

I was about to devour your friend. I don't have the right to be scared...or even to talk to either of you.

Eventually, Haru manages to get the necessary information out of the wolf, finding out he needed roses.

"Well, let's see...you want roses. Clearly, we've got plenty so look around!" She chirps whilst you hold the drawing the peafowl had given Legoshi, "If you need any help, I'm sure my friend here can help you out!"

Immediately, you begin to sweat nervously.

Haru, what have I done to you? Why would you betray me like that?! I thought we were friends!

She gives you a thumps up and leaves you two alone to wander off to the side, caring for certain plants, disposing of weeds and distributing fertilizer. You glare at the drawing, tense to the very core and sweating buckets.

Okay Y/n, just think of this as a presentation in school! Make it seem like you're confident and not crap at Smalltalk, like you know what you're talking about!

With forced, calm breaths, you calm yourself enough that you can form a reasonable sentence; your motto? Fake it till you make it! Maybe your knowledge in art would come in handy now.

"So..." You start, "What club are you in?"

What the hell is wrong with you?! You know what club he's in, you've met him before you goddamn idiot!

Before the wolf can answer, you correct your mistake because in your opinion, it's less rude to admit to your faults than to act like you simply don't remember someone.

"Sorry, uhm, I know you're in the drama club. Y-You're in the art department, at least that's what that deer said," with rising anxiety, you wipe your sweaty hand on your skirt, "I'm just...I'm just not good at this sort of thing. T-Talking to people I mean. But uhm, what exactly do you do?"

Surprisingly, the wolf seems just as anti-social as you. Though Legoshi is surprised at your honesty, seeing as in his opinion, you seemed like you had no problem talking to someone. At least, that is what he gathered from the first time you guys talked at Tem's memorial and from this morning, when he heard you freak about the Donuts on the herbivore menu.

"I'm uh, I'm on the stage crew. We need the flowers to decorate the auditorium."

"Oh, that's cool. I'm guessing it's to fit the play?"

"Uhm, yeah, that's right."

She's so tiny compared to me...and she smells so nice. I don't think I've ever had a conversation with such a harmless omnivore before. Most I know have fangs and claws....without my ....instincts that night and her saying it this morning, I would've thought she's an herbivore.

"H-Hold on, I've got a request!" You stutter with a soft smile, craning your head back to look up at him.

"A request?" caught off guard, Legoshi avoids sneaking a peak at your form at all cost.

Oh no, I can't look at her!

"I'm sure my friend wouldn't like me just giving away these beautiful flowers for free, so uhm..." with a shy bounce on your feet, you point at a few larger plants standing off to the side, "Could you help me carry those to the back?"

Thinking about it, Legoshi glances at the plants, only to feel his tail being snapped behind his suspenders. Shocked and flabbergasted, he jerks up and yelps before looking back at your small figure behind him.

She...She touched me.

Apologetic, you smile at him, "Sorry but your tail is so big, I had to make sure you don't accidently knock down any plants with it. I should have asked before touching you though, I'm really sorry."

"No, it's...it's alright," he stammers, still stunned that you willingly touched him.

His tail...it's so fluffy and soft. I want to touch it again.

With burning cheeks you shake the thought from your head and pick up the first plant to carry it to a spot with more sunlight. Despite your introverted nature, you want to know more about the wolf. A small part of you even thinks he's handsome in a way; tall, dark and mysterious yet still respectful and nice.

"What year are you in?" You ask, walking beside him.

"Second."

"Oh, me too! So you're the same age as me."

It doesn't take long for you two to finish the task and you notice his gaze wandering through the garden, dark eyes sparkling with curiosity.

"Where's everyone else?" he questions with his deep voice.

"From what I know, the last member graduated four years ago, so Haru," you point back at the small rabbit still caring for her flowers, "took it over, so we're currently the only two members."

"It must be hard, just the two of you."

You giggle sheepishly and rub the back of your neck, "I wouldn't really know about it, I only joined this club about one and a half hours ago. But I'm guessing it wasn't easy for her, to handle all of this by herself."

A dreamy glaze crossed your eyes as they stare at the flowers, "But these plants need her, if they're going to make it. She loves them with all of her heart and even though I enjoy being near greenery a lot, I don't think it could ever compare to her love for them. I think knowing how much these plants mean to her makes me love them as well because they make her happy."

You glance back at the Wolf, who's watching you with interest in his dark orbs.

"Actually, I think she needs them too. She's not the strongest animal in this school if you've noticed, at least not in a physical way, so I think they help each other out in order to survive and I'm hoping I can help too. But I know, if I get too stubborn, I may mess things up...I may even risk my life, just to keep her safe."

Your words trigger Legoshi's memories, how he tackled you last night and almost killed you. Knowing that you were probably out there because it had something to do with your friend only makes his guilt grow bigger inside of his chest.

"Uh..."

Don't ask her anything.

"Uhm..."

What are you doing?! Stop!

"Your arm..."

Hey!

"What happened?"

Surprised that he even cared to ask, you glance at your bandaged arm, aware of the nasty scars hiding underneath.

"Oh this? I don't really remember much but I think I tripped and fell. I scraped my arm though; it's really nasty to look at. It doesn't hurt much though, I've had worse."

Like being shot and dying.

"What? Really?"

"Yeah, I know it's kind of unpleasant. You know, seeing someone wearing bandages right after a devouring. But I'm not an herbivore, so I doubt people really care about it. Thanks for asking but you don't have to worry, I'm fine. I'm just really clumsy."

You end up giggling, hoping that your excuse is believable, before walking away with a spray bottle in hand and tending to some flowers. All the while, Legoshi's lost in his thoughts, more particularly in his guilt.

This whole thing is kind of strange. It's not that I'm suddenly relieved, or feeling any kind of pressure. I...I just...urgh...I just can't stop looking at her.

Off in the distance, you see Haru waving the two of you over and shortly after, you're standing in the shed, aka the clubhouse. The rabbit is looking through some kind of magazine, one that you have no idea what it's about but you assume it's gardening, whilst the wolf stands awkwardly against the door and you sit on the bed, dangling your legs.

However, if you knew about all the things that happened in that bed, you probably wouldn't have chosen to sit there.

"Thanks for helping us, they weren't doing so well. Now that they're in a sunny, happy spot, I'll know they'll get better. I think we should pay you back, don't you agree?" She looks at you and you nod, though you're confused where this is coming from.

I thought moving the plants was payment for the flowers he was supposed to get for his club. Though I guess it wouldn't hurt spending more time with that wolf. Man, I should really ask for his name.

"What do you like to eat?"

"Uhm...."

Legoshi begins to think, frantically thinking off a way to spend more time with the human without making her uncomfortable in any way.

Hmmm...no...no, I don't need you to do that. I just want to keep talking to her.

"Uh...well..."

But she'd freak out if a wolf told her that! W-Wait a minute, she's gonna get scared. Hmmm...

"Uhm..."

If I was a human, that...

A somber expression settles on Haru's features, which leaves you confused.

"Oh, so it's that...I understand now," she turns to you, forcing a smile, "Could you do me a favour and pack the roses for him, please?"

"Uh, yeah, uhm, sure," you answer, though puzzled. Are you missing something here?

Glancing between her and the wolf, who seemed to be fighting with himself, you leave the shed and head to the roses, carefully packaging them. You make sure to de-thorn them, you wouldn't want one of the drama club members to accidently hurt themselves.

Meanwhile in the shed, Haru closes the blinds and undresses, whilst Legoshi's still in his own world. He has yet to notice that you had left the room.

Even then I-I wouldn't know what to say. I told them I wanted to talk but I barely said a word! Urgh, I hate myself right now, like always!

"I'm usually not to up for it after caring for my plants. To be honest, I've never been with a carnivore before. Is this your first time with a small animal?"

"Huh?" Finally, he snaps out of it, only to see you gone and the rabbit half naked in front of him.

"Huh?!"

"Don't worry, you can be rough. I can handle it. I think it'll be fun. "

And thus, Virgin.exe has stopped working. Legoshi had gotten himself into quite the situation here. 

****

Hello, I hope you enjoyed Chapter 8!
Bloody hell, that was a long one, over 3000 words my friends, normally my chapters are around 1500 to 2500 words long but oh well.

So I still find this scene hella funny, solely because thia entire episode was just me relating to Legoshi. Only that I've never accidentily had someone try to seduce me :(

But just like with Legoshi, it'd be like "Virgin.exe has stopped working".

Question to you guys, are you more of an introvert or more of an extrovert? Let me know, I'm curious :)

Also, when I'm writing this it's exactly 3:33 am, so rip my soul and my sleeping schedule.

And Yay this story because we hit 200 reads and I am happy about every single one of you :)

I hope you're healthy and safe, where ever you are!

See you in chapter 9!